NATIONAL STANDARD 
SQUAB BOOK 



ELMER C.RICE 





GopyrigM 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



The National 
Standard Squab Book 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/nationalstandard07rice 




ELMER C. RICE 

FOUNDER OF THE SQUAB INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 



The National 
Standard Squab Book 



By Elmer C. Rice 



M 
(Mail address, Post Office Box 175, Boston, Mass., U. S. A.) 

A PRACTICAL MANUAL GIVING 
COMPLETE AND PRECISE DIREC- 
TIONS FOR THE INSTALLATION 
AND MANAGEMENT OF A SUC- 
CESSFUL SQUAB PLANT. FACTS 
FROM EXPERIENCES OF MANY 

HOW TO MAKE A PIGEON AND SQUAB 
BUSINESS PAY, DETAILS OF BUILDING, 
BUYING, HABITS OF BIRDS, MATING, 
WATERING, FEEDING, KILLING, COOL- 
ING, MARKETING, SHIPPING, CURING 
AILMENTS, AND OTHER INFORMATION 



Illustrated with New Sketches and Half Tone Plates 

from Photographs Specially Made 

for this Work 



BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 
1915-1916 



Copyright, 1901, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1908, 

Copyright, 1902, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1909, 

Copyright, 1903, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1910, 

Copyright, 1904, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1911, 

Copyright, 1905, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1913, 

Copyright, 1906, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1914, 

Copyright, 1907, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1915, 
All rights reserved. 



by Elmer C. 
by Elmer C. 
by Elmer C. 
by Elmer C. 
by Elmer C. 
by Elmer C. 
by Elmer C. 



Rice 
Rice 
Rice 
Rice 
Rice 
Rioe 
Rice 



\^ 5 




A WELL-BUILT NEST. 



"A book is written, not to multiply the voice merely, not to carry it merely, but 
to perpetuate it. The author has something to say which he perceives to be true and 
useful. So far as he knows, no one has yet said it; so far as he knows, no one else can 
say it. He is bound to say it clearly and melodiously if he may; clearly, at all events." 

— Ruskin. 



Press of George H. Dean 

BOSTON, MASS. 



SEP 17 1915 #/^ 



©CI.A411556 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Squabs Pay . 
An Easy Start 
The Unit House 
Nest Bowls and Nests 
Water and Feed. 
Laying and Hatching 
Increase of Flock 
Killing and Cooling 
The Markets 
Pigeons' Ailments . 
Getting Ahead 
Questions and Answers 



Preface 
Chapter I. 
Chapter II. 
Chapter III. 
Chapter IV. 
Chapter V. 
Chapter VI. 
Chapter VII. 
Chapter VIII. 
Chapter IX. 
Chapter X. 
Chapter XL 
Chapter XII. 
Supplement 
Appendix A 
Appendix B 
Appendix C 
Appendix D 
Appendix E 
Appendix F 

Plymouth Rock Carhomes 

Carneaux and Homers Not in Same Pen 

A Monthly Squab Magazine 

More About How to Tell Sex . 

How to Keep Down an Excess of Cocks 

Squab Houses of Two and Three Stories 

Squabs Fed Artificially 

Nests on the Floor 

A Plan to Get Rid of Rats and Mice 

How to Make Perches 

Pittsburg Market 

Low Quotations 

How to Kill Cats 

Breeding True to Color 

Sulphur and Iron Water 

Pigeons that Fly Away 

No Coal Ashes 

Temporary Pen and Breeding Pen 

Twigs for Nesting Materials 

Clamoring for Squabs in Washington State 

Oklahoma and Indian Territory 
Appendix G 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Author 6 

Well-Built Nest.... 8 

P. R. Homers 14 

Back Yard House . . 18 
Cheap Nest Boxes. . 22 
Attic Squabbery ... 24 
Unit Squab House... 26 
Solid Nest Boxes. . . 28 
Nest Boxes on 

Cleats 30 

Interior of House ... 32 

Pretty Aviary 36 

Multiple Unit House 38 
Interior of Same. ... 40 
Multiple Unit House 42 
Squab House Fix- 
tures 46 

Berry Crate 50 

Rich Man's Farm . . 58 

Eggs in Nest 64 

Squabs just Hatched 64 
Squabs One Week . . 66 
Squabs Two Weeks . 66 
Squabs Three Weeks 68 
Squabs Four Weeks. 68 

Mating Coop 70 

Venice Pigeons 74 

Tweaking Squabs . . 80 
Squabs Cooling .... 82 
Dressed Squabs .... 86 
Log Squab House. . . 88 

Pair Billing 90 

HowWeShip 98 

Feed Troughs 108 

Killing Machine. ... 115 

Nest Boxes 118 

Pigeons on Rock . . . 138 

Mating House 140 

Interior 142 

Pigeons Outdoors. . . 146 

Dowel System 150 

A. Silz Letter I 

McLaughlin Letter . 190 
Heineman Letter. . . 192 
Plymouth Rocks ... 194 

Illinois Plant 196 

Florida Plant 198 

Hen Sitting 199 

New York Plant 200 

Pigeons on Pole 202 

Cheapest House. . . . 204 

The Start 206 

This Customer 206 

Beautiful Splashes. .207 
Bars and Checks. . .208 



Page 

Pigeons Sunning . . .209 
Squab House In- 
terior 210 

Woman and Squabs.211 

Back of Barn 212 

Shipshape Pen 213 

Feather Nest 214 

Different Sizes 215 

Inexpensive Start . .216 
Row of Beauties. . . .217 

Tame Pigeons 218 

Ready to Kill 219 

Squabs 25 Days 220 

In the Snow 221 

Squabs 3 Weeks 222 

Squabs 12 Days... 223 

Few Days Old 224 

Nest of Stems 225 

Raised from Extras . 226 

Carneaux 227 

Carneau and Homer 236 
Double Squab 

House 243 

Extra Homer Male . 250 
Extra Homer 

Female 252 

Barn Fly Pen 256 

Three Squabs 257 

Any Old Place 259 

Protected by Hill. ..262 
New Jersey Plant. . .264 

Another View 265 

Minnesota Plant . . . 266 
Banquet Squabs. . . . 268 
Mississippi Plant. . .269 
Massachusetts 

Plant 270 

Another View 271 

California Fly Pen. .272 
Small Openings. . . .273 
Squabs on Platter . . 274 
In British Columbia 276 
City Squab House . .278 
Pair of Big Squabs. . 280 

Odd Aviary 282 

Tobacco Stems 283 

Rock Salt 284 

Sorghum Seed 285 

Health Grit 286 

Red Wheat 287 

Canada Peas 287 

Hempseed 287 

Wood Screws 288 

Kaffir Corn 288 

Sorghum Seed 288 



Page 

Whole Corn 289 

Coarse Cracked . . . .289 

Fine Cracked 289 

White Wheat 290 

Poor Red Wheat... .290 
Wheat Screenings . .290 

Barley 291 

Oats 291 

Sunflower Seeds. . . .291 

American Millet 292 

Siberian Millet 292 

Golden Millet 292 

RiceUnhulled 293 

Rice 293 

Buckwheat 293 

Granite Grit 294 

Quartz Grit 294 

Same Crushed 294 

Health Grit 295 

Coarse Shell 295 

Pigeon Shell 295 

Mixed Grain 296 

South Carolina 

Plant 298 

Ordinary Quarters. 301 

Home Made 302 

Association Button . 304 
Hanigan's Squabs. .305 
Carneaux Squabs . . .306 
Squab Plant Moved 307 

Fertile Egg 308 

Rat-Proof Feeder. . . 309 
Schweitzer Letter . .310 
A. Silz' Portrait . . . .311 
Drayload of Squabs.311 
Poultry Show Pen . .312 
Ten-Cent Crate . . . .313 
Heineman Letter . . .314 

Bob Wires 315 

Woman's Plant. . . .316 

Blue-Bar Racer 317 

Silvers and Splashes 318 

Ohio Plant 319 

Fly-Pen Trapped . . .320 
Mrs. White's Car- 
neaux 321 

Fresh Air Plenty. . .322 
Big Homer Squabs. . 323 
Nailsf or Cleats. . . .324 
Baby and Squabs. . .325 

Four Weeks Old 328 

Boy and Pigeon .... 330 
Maerzke's Plant. . . . 331 
Iowa Squab Farm , . 333 



Page 

Artificial Feeding. . . 335 
Women and Pig- 
eons 338 

Fifty-Dollar Homer.340 
White Plumage 

Squabs 342 

White Carneaux 344 

Dressed Squab 346 

Big Texas Homers. . 347 

Simple Feedbox 348 

Flo rida Squab 

House 349 

Muslin Ventilation . 350 
Squabs, Fruit, 

Chickens 351 

Plymouth Rock 

Homer 352 

Montana Homers . . 353 
All from One Pair. . . 354 
Trained Homer . . . .355 

Water in Sight 356 

Seventeen Ounces . . 357 
Ostriches and 

Homers 358 

Funnels to Bleed. . .359 
Male and Female. . . 360 

Montana Plant 361 

Killing Chute 362 

Ohio Squab Farm . .363 

Carneaux 364 

Bunches of Squabs. . 365 

Oregon Plant 366 

Homers in Texas. . .367 
Back Yard Plant. . .368 
Big Plymouth 

Rocks 369 

Carneau Squab 370 

White Homer 371 

Ten Pairs a Year. . .372 
Views of Homers. . .373 

Four Homers 376 

Novel Fly Pen 378 

Carneaux in Ne- 
braska 380 

Homers in R ansas . . 382 
Small Squabhouse. .384 
Two Kinds of 

Squabs 386 

Perkins' Energizer. . 388 
Mr. Steward's Hom- 
ers 390 

First- Class Homers . 392 
Hillside Slope Farm.394 
Kansas Squab Farm 398 



PREFACE. 

This Manual or Handbook on Squabs is written to teach 
people, beginners mostly, not merely how to raise squabs, 
but how to conduct a squab and pigeon business successfully. 
We have found breeders of squabs who knew how to raise them 
fairly well and took pleasure in doing so, but were weak on 
the business end of the industry. The fancier, who raises 
animals because he likes their looks or their actions, or 
because he hopes to beat some other fancier at an exhibition, 
is not the man for whom we have written this book. We 
have developed Homer pigeons and the Homer pigeon industry 
solely because they are staples, and the squabs they produce 
are staples, salable in any market at a remunerative price. 
The success of squabs as we exploit them depends on their 
earning capacity. They are a matter of business. Our 
development of squabs is based on the fact that they are 
good eating, that people now are in the habit of asking for 
and eating them, that there is a large traffic in them which 
may be pushed to an enormous extent without weakening 
either the market or the price. If, as happens in this case, 
pigeons are a beautiful pet stock as well as money makers, 
so much the better, but we never would breed anything not 
useful, salable merely as pets. It is just as easy to pet a 
practical animal as an impractical animal, and much more 
satisfying. 

This Manual is the latest and most comprehensive work we 
have done, giving the results of our experience as fully and 
accurately as we can present the subject. It is intended as an 
answer to the hundreds of letters we receive, and we have 
tried to cover every point which a beginner or an expert needs 
to know. It is a fault of writers of most guide books like 
this to leave out points which they think are too trivial, or 
" which everybody ought to know." It has been our experi- 
ence in handling this subiect and bringing it home to people 
that the little points are the ones on which they most quickly 
go astray, and on which they wish the fullest information. 
After they have a fair start, thev are able to think out their 
operations for themselves. Accordingly we have covered 



12 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

every point in this book in simple language and if the details 
in some places appear too commonplace, remember that we 
have erred on the side of plainness. 

The customers to whom we have sold breeding stock have 
been of great help to us in arranging and presenting these 
facts. We asked them to tell us just the points they wished 
covered, or covered more fully, or just where our writings 
were weak. They replied in a most kindly way, nearly every 
letter thanking us heartily, and brimming over with enthus- 
iasm for the squab industry. 

It has surprised a great many people to learn that Homer 
pigeons are such a staple and workable article. They have 
been handled by the old methods for years without their 
great utility being made plain. When we first learned about 
squabs, we were struck by the impressive fact that here was 
something which grew to market size in the incredible time 
of four weeks and then was marketed readily at a good profit. 
The spread of that knowledge will make money for you. 
Show your neighbors the birds you buy of us, tell them the 
facts, and perhaps give them a squab to eat, then you will 
find a quick call for all the live breeders you can supply. 

The procedure which we advise in this National Standard 
Squab Book is safe and sound, demonstrated to be successful 
by thousands of customers, many of whom started with no 
knowledge except what we were able to give them by letter 
or word of mouth. We have abandoned all instruction 
which does not stand the test of time and locality, and give 
only facts of proven value, of real, practical experience. 

ELMER C. RICE. 



POSTSCRIPT. 

This work has met with so much favor during the past year, 
and has sold so largely in excess of expectations, that we 
wish to thank our friends everywhere for their cordial support. 
The Appendix A which appears at the back of this edition 
was added last February, and it is our intention to keep the 
work up to date by revisions and additions at least twice 
yearly. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the 



PREFACE 13 

proof of these squab teachings is shown in the successes made 
by our thousands of customers with no other knowledge of 
squabs than this as a guide. Our correspondence, now 
having extended over a long period, shows conclusively that 
beginners find all questions answered in this book, and go 
forward confidently and surely to success. 

E. C. R. 



1907 EDITION. 

The old plates of this book have been fairly worn out by 
much printing, so great has been the demand for it, especially 
during the past five years. The sales have been larger than 
for any other work on birds or animals ever written. For this 
1907 edition, the whole book has been reset in new type, and 
new plates made. 

The outlook for the squab industry during 1907 and the 
years to come is of high promise. More people are eating 
squabs than ever before and more people are raising them. 
At no time within our memory has the market been over- 
stocked with squabs, and prices have kept up all along the 
line. Only yesterday we were visited by a gentleman and his 
niece from New York City who stated that they had priced 
squabs there December 31 and found them seven dollars and 
fifty cents a dozen. The dealers who offered them at this 
price had paid the breeders for them from four dollars to six 
dollars a dozen, according to their postal card quotations sent 
out in December. 

We shall be pleased to hear from our friends after they have 
read this book, and welcome any suggestions for its improve- 
ment, or for the betterment of the squab industry. The 
author will gladly answer all such letters and advise fully as to 
location and construction of buildings, and management of 
breeding stock. 

E. C. R. 
1915 EDITION. 

Just a line to assure readers of this work that it is com- 
plete, up to date. Note particularly the new matter on the 
back pages. E. C. R. 




BLUE-BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRA HOMERS. 



14 



CHAPTER I. 

SQUABS PAY. 

Experience of a Customer who Started in January, 1902, 
Erected a Plant Worth Three Thousand Dollars and Made 
Money Almost from the Start — Settlements of Squab Breeders 
in Iowa, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — 
Large Incomes Made from, fcgeons — Squab Plants Known 
to be Making Money — The Hard-Working Farmer and the 
Easy-Working Squab Raiser — No Occupation for a Drone — ■ 
No Exaggeration. 

" Will it pay me to raise squabs?" is the first question 
which the beginner asks. We take the case of a man who 
bought a Manual in January, 1902. His boys had kept a few 
pigeons but had never handled them in a commercial way, 
nor tried to make any money with them. The reading of 
the book gave him the first real light on the squab industry. 
Possibly he was more ready to believe because he knew from 
his own personal experience that a squab grows to market size 
in four weeks and is then readily marketable. He started at 
once to build a squab house according to the directions given. 
The ground was too hard for him to get a pickaxe into, so 
he laid the foundation timbers on bricks, rushed the work 
ahead with the help of good carpenters and sent on his order 
for breeding stock. In the course of a few weeks he ordered 
a second lot of breeders, followed by a third and a fourth, 
and he kept adding new buildings. When spring came and 
the ground softened, he jacked up his first squab house, took 
out the bricks at the four corners and put in cedar posts. 
By the middle of July he had five handsome squab houses 
and flying pens, all built by skilled labor in the best possible 
style at a cost of at least three hundred dollars apiece. With 
his buildings and their fittings and his birds, his plant repre- 
sented an expenditure of between two thousand and three 
thousand dollars. 

This gentleman lives in a locality where he had to put up nice- 
looking buildings, or the neighbors would have complained. 
He spent probably three times more money on his buildings 

15 



16 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

than the average beginner would spend. He is a superin- 
tendent of a large manufacturing plant, a man of push and 
energy, and he has four young boys in his family who have 
helped with the wife and grandfather to make the venture 
successful. It was a paying venture almost from the very 
start. Everything that we wrote about squabs as money 
makers came true in his case. One of the sons, a lad of nine- 
teen, came on to see us the first summer and told us the story 
of their success. He was after more breeding stock. He 
said he had many calls from oeoole who wished to buy stock 
of him, and he was unable to supply all of them, but he did 
not intend to have money offered him very long without 
being able to pass out the birds. In other words, they were 
going into squabs for all they were worth. They had not done 
any advertising, and had not sold live breeders to any extent, 
but figured their profits solely on the sale of squabs to com- 
mission houses, and they were getting for them just what 
we said the commission men would pay. 

We have a great many visitors, some coming from remote 
points of the United States. One of our visitors in the 
summer of 1902 was Mr. A. L. Furlong, from a little town in 
Iowa. Mr. Furlong said to us: " Iowa is quite a squab 
breeding State. There are plants in Ruthven, Osage, Wallake 
and Estherville. The owner of a plant in Ruthven I know 
very well. He showed me his account books; he was shipping 
from seven hundred to eight hundred dollars worth of squabs 
last month. He is making a profit of three thousand to five 
thousand dollars a year. He ships to the Chicago market, 
as do nearly all the Iowa breeders. He never gets less than 
two dollars and fifty cents a dozen for his squabs. I am 
going to start raising squabs myself." 

Mr. Furlong left an order for one of our Manuals, having 
given his first one to his friend. He said that his friend was 
breeding common pigeons and would like to know our methods. 
We discarded common pigeons some time ago. If our Iowa 
friends will use Homer pigeons instead of common ones, they 
will produce a much better squab and make more money. 

We had a curious confirmation of the above in August, 1902, 
when Mr. E. H. Grice, who lives in the northern part of 
Vermont, visited us. Mr. Grice had just returned from a visit 
to the West, and stopped for a while at Ruthven, Iowa, where 



SQUABS PAY 17 

he saw the plant above noted. The proprietor referred Mr. 
Grice to us and advised him to start with Homer pigeons, 
saying that, if he were to stock up again, it would be with 
Homer instead of the common pigeons. Before leaving, Mr. 
Grice gave us an order for one hundred pairs of our Homers. 

The number of orders for breeding stock which we have 
received from Iowa is out of proportion to any State near it, 
showing that these squab plants are known throughout Iowa 
to be making money. The same is true of California. We 
visited many squab breeders in eastern States in June, 1802, 
noting the buildings and methods and finding out from them 
if they were satisfied with the financial returns. All were 
enthusiastic and said it was easy work, that squabs beat 
hens easily and were much less care. The methods of some 
of these breeders were extremely crude, the birds nesting in 
old boxes of all sizes nailed to the walls of the squab 
houses, and apparently never being cleaned. The Homers 
were small, not being able to raise squabs weighing over seven 
pounds to the dozen. 

Somebody has said that a squab plant of one thousand pairs 
of birds will pay better than a farm. The contrast between 
the hard, grinding toil of the man who works a large farm and 
the " standing around " of the owner of a squab plant is indeed 
a striking one. However, we do not speak of this to give you 
the idea that money is going to flow into your lap just because 
you buy some squab breeders of us. It is no work for a drone 
or a " get -rich-quick " person whose enthusiasm runs riot fpr 
two weeks and then cools off. Our class of trade is men and 
women of experience and reliable common sense who have 
a knowledge of the world and understand that things come 
by work and not for the asking. The people who are able 
and willing to pay us from fifty to five hundred dollars for a 
breeding outfit, as hundreds do, are not caught by glittering 
promises, but have money laid by through exercise of the 
qualities of ability and shrewdness. The naturally careless, 
improvident person, who is generally in debt, should not start 
squab raising. It is a sensible industry for sensible people. 

The profits to be made with squabs vary with the individual 
and with the management of the birds, exactly as with poul- 
try. It is important to have only mated or even pairs in the 
pens and all birds not producing should be keot in a separate 




18 



SQUABS PA Y 19 

pen and removed to breeding quarters only after they have 
gone to work. The chief difficulty with a beginner is the 
matter of sex. The male and the female pigeon have no 
marks to distinguish them, and the beginner must determine 
their sex by observation. He must study his birds and come 
to know them. Some beginners will not equip themselves by 
study and observation to make a success and may breed in a 
hap-hazard fashion for a year or more without knowing the 
sex of the birds they raise. Birds which you raise will go to 
work more quickly, look better and breed better than any birds 
you can buy, because that is the temperament of the Homer, 
to be attached to his home, to love it, and to try to reach it if 
he can. Anybody who has doubts as to his ability to raise 
squabs should start with a small flock and breed up until he 
has acquired skill and experience. 

As part of this Manual, in the supplement and appendices, 
we print many letters from customers who started with small 
flocks and won striking successes. It is not necessary to get 
a fancy price for the squabs to make the business a success. 
In confirmation of this we have in mind the work of two of 
our customers, young men named Lunn, who have received 
only two dollars to three dollars a dozen for their squabs, 
selling to dealers who retail them for four dollars to six 
dollars a dozen. These brothers have told- their story in one 
of the poultry papers as follows: 

" In February, 1905, we got the idea of going into the squab 
business. We spent some time looking around and in March, 
1905, we bought what we thought was the best stock, namely, 
the Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. We bought twelve 
pairs. The birds arrived on March 22, 1905, and were as 
fine a looking lot of birds as we had seen anywhere. We now 
(December, 1906) have three hundred pairs. One hundred and 
fifty pairs are well mated and working. The other one 
hundred and fifty pairs are all young birds. We raised all 
our young birds up until September, 1906, and since then have 
been selling squabs weighing from nine and one-quarter to 
ten and one-half pounds and receive twenty-three and 
twenty-five cents each. We feed the best of grain, using 
cracked corn, kaffir corn, red wheat, buckwheat and peas and 
a little hemp. We also give a little rice once or twice a week. 
During the moulting season we added barley to regular 



20 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

rations, which was a great help to the birds all that time. We 
use the self-feeder as described by Mr. Rice in his Manual and 
we find with it the grain is always clean. We have made the 
feeding question one of the most important of all and find 
that the best results are obtained by keeping plenty of grain 
and good clean drinking water before the birds at all times. 
The drinking fountains used are automatic and are scalded 
once each week. About once a week we give a teaspoonful 
of gentian to a gallon of water. We keep fresh water in the 
flying pens for bathing purpose at all times during the summer, 
and in the winter we allow our birds to bathe twice a week at 
noontime. One thing that is very essential with pigeons is 
to be kept clean. Our houses and nests are cleaned every 
week and we also spray the floors, nests and walk with a 
liquid disinfectant. We have never been troubled with lice, 
vermin or any disease of any kind. For nesting material we 
use tobacco stems, cutting them into pieces of about six 
inches, which we consider the best material for the purpose, 
and also a safeguard against lice. We feel satisfied with 
what our birds are doing and have done in the past, so well 
satisfied, in fact, that we have now under construction build- 
ings that will accommodate nearly one thousand pairs of birds. 
And the cost of keeping or feeding will not exceed one dollar 
a year per pair, so that squabs selling from two dollars to 
three dollars per dozen are sure to leave a good profit." 

Looking at the financial showing of the Lunn boys, made 
in twenty-two months, we find that starting with twelve 
pairs, for which they paid us thirty dollars, they raised three 
hundred pairs, worth at the same rate seven hundred and 
fifty dollars. From this must be deducted the grain which 
they bought in that period. They start the new year with a 
fine plant capable of earning a big percentage of profit on its 
valuation. 



CHAPTER II. 

AN EASY START. 

No Special Form of Building Necessary — Points to Remember 
— Shelter Adapted to the Climate — How to Use a Building 
which you Now Have — Squab House and Flying Pen — 
Lining the Squab House with Nests — Use of Egg Crates — 
How to Put up the Perches — Difference between the Nest 
Box, Nest Pan and Nest — How to Tell How Many Pigeons 
can Occupy a Certain Building — A Large Flock of Pigeons 
is Easily Cared for when Split up into Small Flocks — 
How to Use Your Time to Best Advantage. 

Do not get the idea that any special form of building is 
necessary to raise squabs. We will tell you how to put up a 
structure that will make your work easier for you, and enable 
you to handle a big flock fast and accurately, but pigeons 
will work in almost any place, if it is free from rats, darkness 
and the musty dampness which goes with darkness. Any 
building, whether a woodshed, a corn crib, a barn, an outhouse 
of any description, or even a hog pen, can be made a successful 
home for pigeons with a little work. 

The points to remember are these, first, that the building 
be on fairly level, sunny ground; second, that it be raised 
from the ground so that rats cannot breed under it out of sight 
and reach; third, that it ought to be fairly tight, so as to keep 
out rain and excessive cold. Pigeons ought to have sunlight 
and fresh air, like any other animal, and need protection from 
the elements. 

In practice, therefore, most squab houses are found raised 
on posts a foot or two feet off the ground; they face the 
south (here in New England) because most of our bitter 
weather comes from the north and east. If you live in a 
State, territory or foreign country where conditions are 
different, adapt your squab houses to those conditions. In 
some localities, the fierce weather comes from the south and 
west, in which case your squab house should face the north 
or east. 

Here in New England we build a tight house to withstand 

21 




CHEAP BUT PRACTICAL NEST BOXES 
These are empty egg crates piled one atop another from floor to roof of squab 
house. Each egg crate is two feet long, one foot wide and one footdeep. 
partition in the middle makes two nest boxes, each one foot square 
these nest boxes a wood pulp bowl is placed. ' 
wood pulp bowls. 



The 
Into each of 
The birds build their nests in these 



22 



AN EASY START 23 

the cold winters, but in the South the buildings are more open. 
Be guided by what you see around you in the place where you 
live. If the houses used by your friends and neighbors for 
hens and chickens are tight and warm, make your squab 
house tight and warm. It would be foolish for you, for 
example, if you live in Texas, to build a strong, tight, close 
squab house, for in that latitude, in a henhouse built tight 
and close, vermin would swarm and harass the chicks, and 
they would harass the squabs just as fast. 

Some of our customers write from places like Oregon and 
Idaho, where there is a wet and a dry season, and are puzzled 
to know what to do. In such cases we say, arrange your 
buildings as you see poultry houses arranged. The pigeons 
will do as well under the same conditions as hens and chickens. 

Suppose you have a vacant building or shack of any kind 
in which you wish to raise squabs. We will take for granted 
that it has either a flat' roof or a ridgepole with sloping roof, 
and that it is built in rectangular form. Never mind what 
the dimensions are; our advice will apply to either the large 
or the small structure. 

First raise it off the ground, or build a new floor off the 
ground, so that rats cannot breed out of your sight in the 
darkness and get up into the squab house. If there is an old 
floor, patch up all the holes in it. Now you need one door, 
to get yourself in and out of the squab house, and you need 
at least one window through which the pigeons can fly from 
the squab house into the flying pen and back from the flying 
pen into the house. You will shut this window on cold nights, 
or on cold winter days. You must cover the whole window 
with wire netting so that the birds cannot break the panes 
of glass by flying against them. If you have no wire netting 
over the window, some of the birds, when it is closed, will 
not figure out for themselves that theglass stops their progress, 
but will bang against the panes at full speed, sometimes hurting 
their heads and dazing them and at other times breaking the 
glass. 

The flying pen which you will build on the window side of 
the squab house may be as small or as large as you have room. 
The idea of it is not to give the birds an opportunity for long 
flight, but simply to get them out into the open air and sun- 
light. They enjoy the sun very much, it does them good 




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a 

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24 



AN EASY START 25 

and they court its direct rays all the time. Build the flying 
pen, if you choose, up over the roof, so the birds may sun 
themselves there. If that side of the roof which faces the 
flying pen is too steep for the pigeons to get a foothold, nail 
footholds along the roof, same as carpenters use when they 
are shingling a roof, and the pigeons will rest on these to sun 
themselves. For the flying pen you want the ordinary 
poultry netting, either of one-inch or two-inch mesh. The 
two-inch mesh is almost invariably used by squab raisers, 
because it is very much cheaper than the one-inch mesh. 
The one-inch mesh is used only by squab raisers who are afraid 
that small birds (the English sparrows here in New England) 
will steal through the large meshes of the two-inch netting 
and eat the grain which you have bought for the pigeons. 
You can buy this wire netting in rolls of any width from one 
foot up to six feet. If your flying pen is twelve feet high, 
you should use rolls of the six-foot wire. If it is ten feet high, 
rolls which are five feet wide are what you want. If your 
flying pen is to be eight feet high, buy rolls which are four 
feet wide. In joining one width of wire netting to its neighbor, 
in constructing your flying pen, do not cut small pieces of tie 
wire and tie them together, for that takes too much time and 
is a bungling job, but buy a coil of No. 18 or 20 iron wire and 
weave this irom one selvage to another of your wire netting 
in and out of tne meshes, and you have the best joint. 

You can line the three walls of the interior of your squab 
house with nest boxes if you choose. The fourth wall is the 
one in which the window or windows are. On this fourth 
wall you should not have nest boxes, but perches. These 
perches, or roosts, should be tacked up about fifteen inches 
apart, so as to give the birds room without interfering with 
one another. The advantage of the V-shaped roost which we 
advise is that a bird perched on it cannot soil the bird under- 
neath. We sell for five cents each pigeon perches as illus- 
trated on page 32 of this book, which is cheaper than they 
can be made of lumber. 

Please note particularly at this point the following terms 
which we use, and do not become confused. The nest box 
is something in which rests the nest bowl in which the nest 
is built. Do not .speak or think of nests when you mean nest 
boxes. 




26 



AN EASY START 27 

The nest boxes, when done, should look like the pigeon-holes 
of a desk, and should be about one foot high, one foot wide 
and one foot deep. A variation either way of an inch or 
two will not matter. 

One way to get these pigeon-holes is to build them of nice 
pine lumber, in the form of boxing one-half or five-eighths 
of an inch thick. Another way is to use hemlock or spruce 
boards one inch thick. The third way (which we think is 
the best for the beginner who wishes to start most cheaply and 
quickly) is to use egg crates, or orange boxes. These egg 
crates are two feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep, 
but they are divided in the middle by a partition, giving two 
spaces, each of a cubic foot, and this is just what the squab 
raiser wants. They are procurable almost anywhere in the 
United States and Canada new for ten or fifteen cents each, 
and if you buy them after the egg shippers are through with 
them, you can get them for three to five cents apiece. Some 
grocers will be glad to have you carry them away and will 
charge you nothing for them. The crates are built of thin, 
tough wood and usually are neat and solid. Take off the 
covers and throw the covers away, — you do not need them. 
Then put one egg crate on its side, open top out, place 
another egg crate on top of that, and so on until you have 
covered the three walls of your squab house from the floor 
to the roof. Do not use any nails, they are not necessary: 
the crates will keep in position by their weight. It is an 
advantage, also, to have them loose, for when you clean the 
nests, you can step up on a chair or box, take down the crates, 
commencing with the top, and clean each one with your feet 
on the floor. If you build a substantial set of nest boxes of 
boxing or hemlock lumber, you will have to stand on a chair 
and strain your arms in order to clean the top nest boxes, 
so you see there are points in the low-priced arrangement 
not possessed by the fancy kind. It is on the same principle 
by which a humble small boy with bent pin and worms and an 
old pole catches more fish than the city angler with a twenty- 
five dollar assortment of hooks, lines and artificial flies. It 
is the pigeons and the intelligence behind them which do the 
trick, every time. A fancy pigeon house with fancy trimmings 
cannot produce any better squabs than the home-made affair, 
provided the birds are the same in both cases. 




NEST BOXES BUILT OF LUMBER. 

This shows the front of the nest boxes as they face the interior of the squab 
house. They are from ten to twelve inches square, and the same distance deep. 
A slight variation does not matter. The fronts of the nest boxes are, perfectly plain, 
as shown. 



28 



AN EASY START 29 

You should have a pair of nest boxes for a pair of pigeons. 
By a pair of pigeons we mean two pigeons, a male and a 
female. By a pair of nest boxes we mean two nest boxes. 
We find that the word oair has a different meaning to people 
in different parts of the country, perhaps on the same principle 
that a pair of scissors or a pair of suspenders is one object, 
while a pair of something else, as in this case, means two 
objects. A pair of pigeons attend to a pair of squabs in one 
nest box, nevertheless for each pair of pigeons you need two 
nest boxes, for when the squabs are about two weeks old in 
one nest, the old birds will go to the adjoining nest box, or to 
a nest box in a distant part of the squab house, and begin 
housekeeping again, laying eggs and dividing their attention 
between the two families. 

Count your nest boxes and you will know how many 
pigeons your house will accommodate. If your count shows 
ninety-six nest boxes (in other words, forty-eight pairs of nest 
boxes), you can accommodate (in theory) forty-eight pairs 
of pigeons. It is important to remember this: Never fill 
a house with pigeons to the uttermost limit of its capacity, 
as shown by count of nest boxes. If you have, for example, 
forty -eight pairs of nest boxes, do not put into that house 
more than thirty to forty pairs of pigeons. That will leave 
plenty of nest boxes for the birds to choose from. We have 
found by experience that thirty or thirty-five pairs in a 
ninety-six nest-box house will accomplish more than more 
pairs in the same space. 

Do not write us and tell us that you have a house of a 
certain size and ask us to tell you how many pairs of pigeons 
it will accommodate. Put in your nest boxes as we have 
described and then count them, and you will know. Or you 
may figure it out for yourself on paper, allowing two nest 
boxes, each one cubic foot in size, for each pair of birds. To 
put it in another way, you should allow one cubic foot of nest 
box space for each breeding pigeon. Surely we have made 
this so plain now that you cannot go astray. 

Perhaps your start will be made with so small a number of 
birds that you will not have to cover more than one wall of 
your squab house with nest boxes. Cover one wall, or two 
walls, or three walls, whichever the occasion demands. Have 
a lot of spare boxes, and let the breeding pairs choose where 



SINGLE NEST-BOX 
CONSTRUCTION. 

(See Upper Picture). 

When the nest boxes are 
built of lumber (one-half 
an inch or five-eighths of an 
inch thick) the construc- 
tion shown in the upper 
drawing (surrounded by 
black line) should be em- 
ployed. The bottom s are 
not nailed, but slide in on 
cleats as shown. The re- 
sult is a sliding shelf. This 
shelf may be pulled out at 
cleaning time and a better 
and quicker job of cleaning 
done. The nest bowls 
may be screwed directly 
to the bottoms of the nest 
boxes. Ifthatisdone.it 
will not be necessary to 
screw the nest bowls to 
blocks of wood, to give 
them stability. The nest 
boxes should be from ten 
inches to twelve inches 
square. 



DOUBLE NEST-BOX 
CONSTRUCTION. 

(See Lower Picture.) 

Thisdoubleboxis 
favored by many. It is 
comparatively new in de- 
sign. The picture was 
drawn and this description 
was written in February, 
1913. Pages 45 to 50 of 
this book were put into, 
type and plates made be- 
fore that date. This 
double nest box is a good 
one. The box has two 
feet frontage. The re- 
movable centre piece is 
- four inches high, two feet 
frontage and one foot 
deep. The shelf or base- 
board, also removable, is 
deep enough so that 
a porch (or perch) four 
inches wide is left for the 
birds to alight on. This 
shelf, or baseboard, slides 
on cleats, so the whole 
~~-.~n'f' arrangement, except the 

"'— vertical uprights, takes 

apart for cleaning. The 
nestbowls, two in number, 
are screwed to the baseboard in the centre of the two squares formed by the removable 
centre piece. Some builders prefer the single nest-box construction, others 1 ; ■ 
It is a matter of individual preference. 




tfeiJiovable cenfr'epkce^ 



Each style is good and we endorse both of them. 



30 



AN EASY START 31 

they will. An extra number of nest boxes may be useful 
to you to accommodate the young birds raised to breeding 
age from the old birds which you buy of us, if you intend to 
raise your squabs to breeding age. 

An expenditure of not over five dollars, and a couple of 
days' time, will transform the average old. building into a 
habitation for squabs. Put on the finishing touches and add 
to the expense to suit your fancy. You may cover the out- 
side of the building with building paper, and shingle or clap- 
board it. You may put a skylight in the roof for ventilation, 
Improve it all you wish. Use your own judgment. 

To get at your pigeons in such a house, you walk in through 
the door and find yourself directly among them, the nest 
boxes all pointing at you. Go to the nest which you wish to 
investigate or from which you wish to take out the squabs 
and put your hand in the opening. The old birds will fly 
by your head, perhaps, and may strike you with their wings, 
but they will not fly into your face and eyes, — they are good 
dodgers. Don't be afraid that if you enter the house when 
the housekeeping is going on you will frighten the birds so 
they never will come back to the eggs or the squabs. They 
will seem timid at first, but they will get accustomed to you. 

In the course of a few weeks, only a few will make a great 
hustle to get away from you. Many of them will continue 
to sit contentedly on the eggs and if you put up your hand 
to them they will not fly off in fear but will slap you with 
their wings, telling you in their language not to bother them. 
Carry some hempseed in with you and you will teach the 
birds to come and eat it out of your hand. You can tame 
them and teach them to love you as any animal is taught. 
The pigeon, particularly the Homer, the king of them all, is 
a knowing bird. 

We sell perches of our own manufacture which are cheaper 
than they can be made at home out of lumber. Price, five 
cents each, ten for fifty cents, twenty for one dollar, one 
hundred for five dollars. Sample by mail for eight cents. 
These perches are pictured in position in the squabhouse on 
the next page (32). They are just screwed into the wall 
wherever convenient. Put up as many perches as you please 
about eighteen inches or two feet apart on the inside of your 
squabhouse, on the walls. The arrangement should be about 




32 



AN EASY START 33 

as shown in the illustration. You cannot have one long 
pole inside the squab house for a pigeon perch. If you had 
such a pole, and your pigeons were perched on it, or some 
of them were, a bully cock would saunter down the line and 
push off all the others. 

In the centre of the squab house you place an empty crate 
or overturned box. The object of this is to break the force 
of the wind made by the pigeons' wings as they fly in and out 
of the squab house. Otherwise the floor of the squab house 
would be swept clean by the force of the wind. It also forms 
a roosting-place for the birds, and, finally, it is a convenient 
resting-place for the straw, hay, grass cr pine needles out of 
which the pigeons build their nests. 

The floor of the squab house should be kept clean. We 
formerly advised that a layer of sand or sawdust half an 
inch thick be kept on the floor of the squab house, to absorb 
the droppings, but we have found a steady and profitable 
demand for pigeon manure, and this manure is worth scraping 
up and carefully saving, for its sale will pay from one-quarter 
to one-third of the grain bill. Use an ice chisel to scrape the 
droppings from the floor, and pack the manure away in barrels 
or bags. Clean the floor about once in three weeks, or oftener, 
depending on the size of your flock. Pigeon manure is in 
active demand all the time by tanneries. We send the 
manure from our pigeons by freight to tanneries in Lowell, 
Lynn, Peabody and Danvers, and are paid for it at the rate 
<)f sixty cents a bushel. 

We have a building eighty feet long built especially for the 
drying and storing of the manure. During the years we have 
been in the squab business, we have sold enough pigeon 
manure to pay for nearly all the pigeon buildings on our farm. 
Some pigeon raisers with crude methods know nothing of the 
value of the manure and lose this by-product. They either 
ruin it by putting sand or sawdust on the floor of the squab 
house, or else waste it on their gardens. The pure manure 
is too valuable for home use. To fertilize our flower and 
vegetable gardens, and hay field, we scrape up from the 
flying pens, outdoors, the gravel which has become saturated 
with manure. It is surprising what an increase in vegetation 
this manure-soaked gravel will cause. Fresh gravel is put 
down in the flying pens. 



34 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

A peculiarity about pigeon manure is that it is not foul- 
smelling like hen manure, and when it is mixed with water 
you get a kind of crude soap. In washing the old-style 
earthenware nest bowls, no soap was necessary. We used 
warm water in washing them and the manure caked to them 
formed a cleansing soap in conjunction with the water. If 
you have a basket in which you have transported pigeons, 
and whose bottom is caked with the hard droppings, lay the 
basket face down and sprinkle water liberally on the under- 
side. The manure will drop off in large pieces from the 
inside and the basket will become perfectly clean. 

In raising live-stock of any kind, arrange matters so the 
animals will look after themselves as much as possible. Aim 
to cut down the factor of personal drudgery, so as to leave 
your time clear to observe, plan, and execute intelligently. 
Beginners who load themselves do?i with a daily round of 
exacting duties soon lose heart, thsir patience gives out and 
they become disgusted. We have known breeders of rabbits 
to fail simply because they raised them in hutches. Each 
hutch had a door and two dishes, one for feed, the other for 
water. Every day, the door of the hutch had to be opened, 
the hutch cleaned, the dishes refilled (and often cleaned), and 
the door closed. It took fifteen or twenty motions to do this 
for each hutch. Multiply this by twenty to thirty (the 
number of the hutches), and the burden grew unbearable. 
It was not surprising that in three or four months the breeder's 
patience was worn out. The factor of personal drudgery had 
become greater than the rabbits. The thoughtful breeder 
would have turned his rabbits into two or three enclosures on 
the ground and let them shift for themselves. Then one set 
of motions in feeding would have answered for all, and there 
would have been no dirt to clean up. Infinite patience as 
well as skill is required to make a success of animals given 
individual attention. The aim of every breeder should be to 
make one minute of his time serve the greatest possible num- 
ber of animals. When you think and reason for yourself, 
you understand how much more practical it is to give sixty 
animals one minute of your time than one animal one minute. 
Time is money and if you are too particular, and too fussy, 
and thoughtless about these details, it is a clear case of the 
chances being sixty to one against you. 



AN EASY START 35 

At the start, the problem of breeding squabs for market 
is in your favor, because one hundred pairs of breeding 
pigeons may be handled as easily and as rapidly as one pair. 
Try to keep this numerical advantage in your favor all the 
time. Discard every plan that cuts down the efficiency of 
your own labor, and adopt every device that will give you 
control in the same time over a greater number of pigeons. 

It takes brains and skilled labor to run a poultry plant 
successfully. Every poultry man knows that he cannot 
entrust the regulation of temperatures of incubators and 
brooders to an ignorant hired man, but even a boy or girl, or 
under-the-average farm hand, knows enough to fill up the 
bath pans and feeding troughs for squab-breeders, leaving 
the time of the owner free for correspondence and the more 
skilful work. 

The primary object is to breed squabs for market as cheaply, 
as easily and as fast as possible, without the expenditure of a 
dollar for fanciful or impractical appurtenances. 

Do not think it is necessary to heat your squab house. A 
squab house which has the chill of dampness taken off it by 
hot water or steam pipes will raise more squabs than a house 
not heated, but a flock of pigeons in a small house throw off 
considerable heat from their bodies and will breed in cold 
weather all right. After you have developed your plant and 
have a large business which you wish to keep at the highest 
state of efficiency, you may heat your squab house. The idea 
of heat in winter time is to keep the birds more contented and 
get more squabs out of them, and not at all to keep them 
alive. Do not be afraid that your pigeons will freeze to 
death. We have many customers in Canada. In coldest 
weather, the old birds hover the squabs more carefully. 

City people can keep pigeons in the garret of a house, or the 
loft of a barn, without a foot of ground being needed. In 
such a case the flying pen, or place to which the pigeons go 
for sun and air, can be built out on a platform. The illus- 
tration (page °A) shows how to utilize a window of a garret. 
If you think that rats will trouble you in either a garret or 
barn loft, cover the floor inside, especially the corners, with 
fine wire netting through which it will be impossible for the 
rats to gnaw from below. 

One of our customers in Illinois, a rich horse breeder having 



36 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

a barn some two hundred feet long, turned the whole 
upper story into a loft for pigeons. The flying pen takes in 
the whole back of the barn. There are windows and no doors 
on this side of the barn, the horses using doors on the other 
side, so this leaves the upper story of the barn, and its whole 
back-yard, free for the pigeons. 




A PRETTY SQUAB HOUSE AND FLYING PEN. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE UNIT HOUSE. 

Best Possible Construction for a Squab Plant — The Wind- 
Break Formation of Roof — Dimensions of the Unit — 
Multiplying the Unit to Increase the Capacity of Your 
Plant — A Passageway behind the Nest Boxes — Number- 
ing the Nest Boxes, and the Ma agement of a Card Index to 
Correspond — Cost of the Unit Construction is from Three 
Dollars to Five Dollars a Running Foot — Working Drawings 
— The Nest Bowls. 

If you have no building already standing which you can fix 
over for pigeons, you may erect a simple rectangular structure 
and line it with nest boxes as we have described in the last 
chapter, We will tell you in this chapter how to put up the 
finest kind of a pigeon structure. It is at the same time the 
most expensive. It is the best, the most workmanlike. In 
saying that it is expensive, we do not mean that money is 
thrown away on its construction, for that is not so. It is a 
fit habitation for a money-making investment. 

This best method of construction results in what we call the 
unit house. You can multiply this unit as many times as you 
please and get as large a house as you wish, or you may add 
a unit from time to time, just as you add unit bookcases to 
accommodate the growth of the modern library shelves. 
You can erect these units separately, or attach one unit to the 
other so that you have one long building. 

The nest boxes are btilt of boxing and set in a vertical row 
at the back of the house, forming a wall between which and 
the north side of the house is a three-foot passageway. You 
can buy this boxing at a saw-mill all cut, ten by eleven inches, 
the dimensions of the nest, and if you get it in this shape you 
can put the boxes together with as much ease as a child builds 
a doll's house. You will have no doubts as to the squareness 
and plumbness of the structure when you have it up. Take 
long lengths of boxing eleven inches wide for the shelving 
which should form the top and bottom of the nest boxes, then 
set the ten-inch by eleven-inch pieces the proper distance 

37 




w I 



38 



THE UNIT HOUSE 39 

*part. The finished nest will be eleven inches from front to 
back, ten inches from top to bottom, and about ten inches 
from one partition to the other (or whatever distance the 
proper distribution of your nests in pairs permits). 

We have found five-eighths-inch boxing to be the best 
suited. Build the nest boxes up from floor to roof perfectly 
plain, just as the pigeon-holes of a desk run. 

The nest boxes should be perfectly plain, made of simple 
boxing in the manner described. Do not build up a piece of 
boxing at the front part of the nest to prevent the nest bowl 
from being pushed out. Early in our experience we built 
nests in this way, but soon changed them over to the simpler 
form, on account of the difficulty of keeping them clean. The 
droppings bank up at the front of such a nest box. 

Pigeons, especially a new flock in a new home, breed best 
in a house which is somewhat dark, and not too glaring with 
light. If your window is situated so as to let in a flood of 
light, you will get better and quicker results by shading it so 
that the interior will be dim. Some breeders advocate that 
the nest boxes have fronts of wood (removable) so that the 
nest box will be darkened. The same result will be accom- 
plished if the window of the house is shaded so as to temper 
the light and prevent it from streaming into the nest boxes. 

The dimensions of this unit squab house are as follows: 
Length, sixteen feet; width, twelve feet; length of flying pen 
from end of house to end of yard, twenty feet; distance from 
floor of squab house to ridgepole, twelve feet; two windows 
in south wall of squab house, each two feet two inches wide 
and three feet ten inches high. One window in north wall of 
squab house, two feet two inches wide and three feet ten 
inches high. There is a passageway on the north side of the 
squab house three feet wide, separating the north wall from 
the vertical row of nest boxes. The door of the squab house 
opens into this passageway so that you can enter the house 
without being seen by the birds, and without disturbing them. 

If you wish, you can set up rows of nest boxes on the 
east and west walls of the squab house and accommodate more 
pairs. You cannot have a passageway behind these nest 
boxes on the east and west walls, but will approach them 
from the front by entering the interior of the squab house 
through a wire door which leads from the passageway. 




INTERIOR OF MULTIPLE UNIT HOUSE. 

This is one of our houses. The drinking fountains stand in the passageway and 
their fronts project through the wire netting under the first row of nest boxes. The 
nest boxes are empty egg crates. The feed troughs are inside of each pen. In 
other houses, we set the feed troughs alongside the drinkers in the alleyway and 
cut away the netting so the birds can feed from them. We like the last arrange- 
ment best because the troughs can be filled more quickly from the passageway, and 
the time of opening and closing doors and going into pens is saved. 



40 



THE UNIT HOUSE 41 

Build the first unit so that you can extend it either to the 
east or west (as your land lies) to increase your accommoda- 
tions. Your squab house will always remain sixteen feet 
from north to south, but it may be either twelve feet from 
east to west, for one unit, or twenty-four feet for two units, 
or thirty-six feet for three units, and so on. Of course you 
can build one long house sixteen feet wide and in length any 
multiple of twelve, and keep all the birds you wish in it, but 
we do not advise such an arrangement. You can keep track 
of your pairs better if you split a big flock up into unit flocks. 

Fanciers breeding flying Homers from our birds, or squab- 
raisers who wish to keep track of every pair of birds, can 
provide a card index (the cards being perfectly blank and 
three by five inches in size), number the cards to corre- 
spond with the nest boxes, and on these cards keep a record 
of what the birds in the nest boxes do. These cards, which 
are blank except for the numbers they bear, can be kept in a 
tray such as the manufacturers of card indexes advertise in the 
back pages of the magazines and you can pick out any card 
you wish, or turn to it, at once. It is much better than 
keeping a record in a book, for you cannot tear out the leaves 
of a book, as you can throw away a card, nor can you shift one 
page from one location to another, as you can a card in a tray. 

The floor of the squab house rests on cedar posts and is 
two feet from the ground. The floor is built of two thick- 
nesses of board, with building paper between. The walls of 
the squab house are built of boards which are covered with 
building paper and shingled. The roof is shingled. You 
can use clapboards on the sides, or common boards. 

The cost of such a squab house, complete with flying pen 
and all inside fittings, built in the best possible manner, will 
be from three dollars to five dollars a running foot. That is 
to say, a unit plant twelve feet long will cost from thirty-six 
to sixty dollars. A plant consisting of three units, thirty-six 
feet long, will cost from one hundred and eight to one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars. We publish and sell for ten cent? 
working drawings showing just how to build a unit in 
every detail. On the same sheet are working drawings 
for building a simple squab house (without passageway) to 
cost from fifteen to twenty-five dollars. Also on the same 
sheet we give data showing how one of our friends built a 




< 
(J 

P* 

g -i 
p .a 

o S 

to 

O rf 

£3 
Q * 

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m-s. 



PL) 



42 



THE UNIT HOUSE 43 

squab house and pen capable of accommodating two hundred 
and twenty pairs of breeders at a cost of one hundred and 
thirty dollars. In ordering, simply say you wish plans and 
specifications for squab houses. 

Some who wish the best construction write us to ask if a 
cement floor is not better than a wood floor. It is when 
properly laid, but not when laid thinly and poorly. A thin 
floor with a poor foundation looks good when freshly laid, 
but the first winter causes the dirt foundation to shrink and 
swell, then come cracks in the cement. Rats and mice burrow 
in the dirt up to the cement and find their way through the 
cracks to the squabs. In a short time, they are a nuisance. 
We have seen a squab house built with cement floor which 
cracked as described and every time the owner and his dog 
took a walk down the alleyway, they found rats to kill. 
Finally the whole lot of cement had to be pounded to pieces, 
shoveled up and carted off. The way to stop rate and mice 
is to erect the building on posts as we have described. Rats 
and mice live in the dirt and they cannot get up into the 
squab house. If a cement floor is properly laid of sufficient 
thickness on a good foundation according to our concrete 
block squab house building plans (see next page), it is proof 
against frost, will not crack, and will wear forever. 

In our early plans for the unit squab house, we provided 
for a buildmg with a " jog " in the roof, making a long, low 
slope for the south side of the roof, and on this slope the 
birds would sun themselves and make love. This " jog " 
construction is more expensive than is needed, and now we 
have a better way. We have an ordinary pitch roof, sloping 
equally from the ridgepole to both north and south. We run 
the flying pen out on the south side, not from the ridgepole, 
but from the eaves, and then out in the flying pen we erect 
perches as shown in the picture. The fact that the birds 
rest easily on these perches (as the photograph in Appen- 
dix A shows) is proof that they are contented and pleased 
by such an arrangement. We have found, too, that they 
can hear the squeaks of their young for food better than if 
they are up on the roof, and better attention to the squabs 
is the result. It was formerly thought unsafe to erect perch- 
ing poles in the flying pen directly in front of tho windows, 
the fear being that birds darting suddenly out of the windows 



44 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

would strike the perching poles and become injured. Such a 
fear goes on the assumption that a pigeon cannot take care 
of itself in flight. They are quick of eye and quick of wing, 
and are intelligent to a high degree, and we never knew a 
bird to be injured by flying against horizontal perches in the 
flying pen. They never strike them but always fly between 
them or alight on them. 

Please note particularly that if you erect one 1 ong building 
which will be a multiple of units, you separate these units, 
both inside and outside of the squab house, not by board 
partitions, but by wire partitions. For instance, if you have 
a building one hundred feet long, ten units, you will separate 
the units by nine wire partitions, these partitions being erected 
both inside and outside the house. 

Note. On page 41 we tell of building plans which we sell 
for ten cents. Those plans show how to build the unit squab 
house of wood as shown on page 26 of this book, or, if the 
construction is extended, the multiple unit squab house of 
wood as pictured on page 42. Lately, on account of the 
increased cost of lumber and the wide spread of the use of 
cement, we have had calls for plans for a 

CONCRETE BLOCK SQUAB HOUSE. 

We now sell at ten cents plans for the unit squab house of 
concrete block construction. These show the perspective 
view as well as the ground floor plan and elevation. You 
will find probably in your town, or nearby, a dealer in the 
cement blocks of which this house is built. The general 
plan of this concrete block squab house is the same as our 
wooden squab house, with the exception that the south side 
has one large pivoted window frame to be covered with cloth 
(no gliss) so as to accustom the pigeons to the prevailing 
temperature of fresh air at all seasons of the year, and to 
secure at all times good ventilation. 

In ordering building plans, please specify whether you want 
the wood building plans or the concrete block building 
plans. They are ten cents each, or both for twenty cents. 



CHAPTER IV. 

NEST BOWLS AND NESTS. 

Do Not Use the Old- Fashioned Nest Pans — -Obvious Faults 
of the Earthenware Nappy — The Wood- Fibre Nest Bowl 
— How the Pigeons Choose Nest Boxes — What to Use for 
Nesting Material — How the Birds Manage their Nests. 

For nest pans, do not use the heavy, deep, red clay, unglazed 
dishes which you may see offered for sale as pigeon nests. 
They are a relic of the past. 

In our early experience we used for a pigeon nest bowl 
che common kitchen yellow earthenware nappy. We em- 
ployed two sizes, the six-inch and the seven-inch, changing 
from the large one to the small one when the squabs were 
two weeks old. These earthenware nappies filled the bill in 
being cheap and shallow, and the pigeons deposited their 
manure in a circle outside and not inside the nest, but they 
have faults which are obvious. They are flat and not round- 
ing on the bottom. When the female pigeon turns the eggs 
(as she does daily, same as a hen, in order to give the heat of 
her body to the whole shell and to give fresh albumen to the 
germ) the eggs are liable to roll apart, making it necessary 
for the bird to gather them together again, and after two or 
three mishaps like this she is liable to desert them. The 
earthenware is cold, breakable and can be kept clean only 
with water. The washing of the nappies becomes a tedious 
task and is often neglected. In winter weather, the earthen- 
ware dishes become so cold that one's fingers are numbed 
by handling them — and the squabs which sit in them are 
numbed, even frozen. 

Later we perfected a nest bowl made of wood which met 
every objection raised against earthenware. We sold thou- 
sands of them during the two years we had them on the market 
and they gave good satisfaction except when some were 
made of improperly seasoned lumber, in which case they 
would crack and split after a few months' use. After study 
and experiment to remove this objection, we had expensive 
patterns and moulds made and began the manufacture of 

45 



OLD-STYLE NEST PAN. WATER DISH. LARGE NAPPY. SMALL NAPPY. 
Do not use either the old-style pigeon nest pan or open water dish. 




THE WOOD- PULP NEST BOWL. 
This is made in one size (nine inches diameter of bowl). To give stability, the 
bowl may be fastened to a base by one screw. The first picture shows the perspective 
view; the second picture shows one-half cut away. This is the most practical nest 
pan for squab raising and is having an enormous sale. The bowl may be screwed 
airectly to the bottom of the nest box. (See page 48.) 




BATH PAN AND DRINKER. HAND BASKET. 

One bath pan to every twelve pairs of birds is necessary. The hand basket 
(price $3.50) is used in large plants to carry the squabs from the nests to the killing 
place. The squabs should not be killed in sight of the parent birds. 

46 



NEST BOWLS AND NESTS 47 

these bowls out of wood pulp. Their success was quickly- 
demonstrated and now we sell nothing else. These wood- 
pulp nest bowls have all the advantages of the wood bowls 
and at the samevtime are practically indestructible, cannot 
warp or split. The wood pulp of which they are made is 
thick and exceedingly tough, being solidified under many 
tons' pressure. We sell these wood-pulp nest bowls in one 
size only, nine inches in diameter. Price, nine cents each, 
one dollar and eight cents per dozen, twelve dollars and 
ninety-six cents per gross. We make prompt shipment from 
Boston same day order is received, in any quantity. No order 
is filled for less than one dozen. We have the exclusive sale 
of these goods and they cannot be obtained elsewhere. They 
are not manufactured in the United States. We import 
them. Beware of imitations. 

The advantages of this nest pan are these : (1) The eggs roll 
to the centre and are always close together under the birds. 

(2) It is warmer than earthenware and eggs are not chilled. 

(3) It is cleaned without water by means of a trowel, and 
may then be whitewashed, if desired. (4) The claws of the 
old birds and squabs do not sprawl, and no cases of deformed 
legs in the squabs are found. (5) It is unbreakable. (6) 
When shipped either short or long distances, no packing is 
necessary, they are lighter and the freight bill is smaller. 
(7) And finally the birds " take " to them more readily than 
to earthenware, getting to work more quickly and producing 
more squabs. 

We make this wood pulp nest bowl in only one size as 
specified and illustrated (two sizes are not necessary because 
the feet of the squabs do not sprawl as in the case of the 
earthenware nappies). You will need one pair of nest bowls 
for every pair of pigeons (in other words, one nest bowl to 
every pigeon). If you order twenty-four pairs of breeders 
you will need forty-eight nest bowls. If you order ninety-six 
pairs of breeders you will need one hundred and ninety-two 
nest bowls. 

We know our birds will breed more successfully in these 
nest bowls than in earthenware, and to make it an object 
for you to buy them, you may deduct the freight charges 
on nest bowls from your order for birds. First order your 
nest bowls sent by freight, then when you order your breeders. 



48 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

send us your freight receipt and count the amount as cash. 
Or you may order your birds at the same time you do the 
nest bowls (and other supplies) and when you get your freight 
receipt send it to us. Orders for one dozen to four dozen 
bowls should go by express with the birds (tied to the basket) , 
unless it is desired to have the bowls go with grain, grit, shells, 
etc., by freight. 

Place one nest bowl in each one of your nest boxes. Let 
the pairs choose to suit themselves. At the end of the month, 
when you take out the squabs, take out the nest bowl, clean 
it and put it back. 

Many customers who do not use egg crates or orange 
boxes, but build their nest boxes of half -inch or five-eighths 
lumber, have written us that they used the construction 
which we illustrate on page 30, and which is good, because 
cleaning can be better done. The bottoms of the nest boxes 
are removable and rest on cleats, as the picture shows. The 
cleats are seven-eighths or one inch square and are nailed 
to the uprights. When this construction is employed, it is 
not necessary that you have a block or base screwed to our 
wood-fibre nest bowl. The nest bowl may be screwed 
directly onto this removable bottom. If you use egg crates 
or solid-built nest boxes, you will have to give the wood-pulp 
nest bowl stability by screwing it to a base of wood seven 
inches square and about three-quarters of an inch thick. 

When the squab house is ready for the birds, each of the 
nest boxes has one of these nest bowls. ' The pigeons build 
their own nests in them, taking the nesting material and flying 
to the nest bowl with it. The average nest has from one to 
two inches of straw compactly and prettily laid by the birds. 
Some birds use more nesting material than others. After the 
squabs are hatched, they quickly show that Nature never 
intended them to have a dirty nest. When they wish to 
make manure, they back up to the edge of the nest and "shoot" 
outward and over the edge of the nest bowl into the nest box, 
which is just where the breeder wants to find it. In a week 
or two there will be a circle of solid manure in the nest box, 
but it is out of the nest, and off and away from the feet of 
the squabs. As the squabs grow older, their claws tread and 
throw out the straw on which they were hatched, and the nest 
bowl gets bare again as it was in the first place. The small 



NEST BOWLS AND NESTS 49 

amount of manure which then sticks to it is removed with a 
trowel. 

The use of this wood-pulp nest bowl has lightened the 
work a great deal for they never have to be washed. They 
should not be washed, for water weakens them, particularly 
at the bottom, where the screw hole is. A washer should 
be put under the screw head to hold the bowl tight and to 
prevent its turning while being cleaned. We ship these 
washers and screws with the bowls. 

The pigeons will not take with mathematical regularity 
pair by pair the nest boxes which you have provided. Some 
of them will take them in pairs, one adjoining the other. 
This makes it convenient for you in keeping track of them. 
Others will take one nest box in one part of the squab house 
but go to another part of the squab house for their second 
nest. Some will not take a nest box at all, but will build a 
rough nest on the floor of the squab house and rear their 
family there. Let them choose for themselves. 

The nests are built by the birds of straw, grass, hay or pine 
needles. The birds fly to -the pile, select what wisps they 
want, then fly to the nest boxes and arrange the wisps in 
a nest bowl to suit themselves. Tobacco stems are recom- 
mended for nesting material, because the odor from them 
will have a tendency to drive away lice, but they are not 
necessary if the nest bowls are used and ordinary cleanliness 
observed. The tanners do not want manure mixed with 
tobacco stems which have dropped down from the nests. 
The stems, when wet in the vat, stain the hides. When 
tobacco stems are used for nesting material, it is impossible 
to prevent many of them from dropping to the floor, where 
they are tramped by the birds into the manure. The tanners 
do not care if some straw and hay are in the manure. Before 
cleaning out the squab house, the loose straw and feathers 
should be swept out with a broom. 

The best thing to keep the nesting material in is a berry 
crate. Fill it with straw and hay (use the fine oat, not rye 
straw, cut into six-inch lengths) and shut down the cover. 
Then when the birds want nesting material they will fly to 
the vertical openings in the sides of the berry crates, stick 
their bills in and make their selection. The cover of the berry 
crate prevents the birds from soiling the nesting material. 



50 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



They will not build nests with dirty nesting material. It must 
be first-class, clean, dry and sweet or they will not use it. 

Some of our customers use pine needles successfully fox 
nesting material. We have never tried them because they 
are not plentiful around our farm. Where they are in abun- 
dance, we recommend that they be tried. 

When a new lot of pigeons are placed in a squab house, 
they will cause annoyance, while they are learning their new 
home and getting ready to go to work, by making manure in 
the nest bowls, where they roost. This cannot be prevented. 
The remedy is, to clean once a week. 




Fill this berry crate with nesting material and place it in center of squabhouse. For 
nesting material use twigs, dried grass, tobacco stems, pine needles, straw, hay, stems of 
leaves, small dried stalks or anything else of this nature. Give the birds a good variety 
of nesting material. Some birds will use one kind, some another. Renew the nesting 
mater ; al once a week. It should be cut into lengths of from four to six inches. Keep it 
not only in the above crate inside the squabhouse but also make a small pile outdoors in 
the flypen, protected from rain. 



CHAPTER V. 

WATER AND FEED. 

Necessity of Pure Water and Plenty of it — The Kind of 
Drinking Dish to Use and the Kind Not to Use — Manage- 
ment of the Drinking Fountain and Bath Pan — The Feed 
Trough and Self -Feeder — Feeding Habits — What Grains 
to Use — How to Mix Red Wheat and Cracked Corn — Use 
of Grit, Oyster Shell and Salt — How to Feed the Dainties 
— Keep Feed before Your Flock All the Time. 

Pure water and plenty of it is good for pigeons. When the 
weather is not too cold, it is the custom of pigeons to get 
into water, wherever it is. When they cannot bathe in it, 
they will stick their dirty feet into it. When they cannot 
get in their feet, they will douse their heads. They are after 
water all the time. When feeding the squabs, the old bird will 
fill up its crop with grain, then fly to the water and take a drink, 
then return and dole out to the squabs the watery and milky 
mixture on which they fatten. 

The source of drinking water should be separate from the 
bath pan. They will drink from the bath pan, to be sure, 
while the water remains comparatively clean, but after a few 
have bathed in it, it is unfit for any bird to drink, and inside 
of twenty minutes the pan is not only covered with a whitish, 
greasy scum, but is dyed greenish from the manure which 
has washed off their feet. 

There should be drinking water inside the squab house, 
provided you have not a running stream or some such clean 
water device in the flying pen. 

The kind of water dish you do not want in the squab house 
is the kind with the open top, into which the birds can wade, 
and which they can foul with their droppings. The best device 
we have found is the self -feeding fountain, such as we illus- 
trate on page 46. This fountain is made either of crockery 
or galvanized steel, or iron. Galvanized iion or steel is better 
than crockery, because if water freezes in such a dish the 
dish will not be cracked. It will be seen by examination 
of the self -drinker that it is impossible for the pigeons to foul 

51 



52 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

the water. The reservoir holds quite a supply of water, 
which feeds down as fast as it is drunk by the pigeons. We 
have seen beginners puzzled by these self-drinking dishes; 
they cannot imagine why the water does not all run out at 
once by the bottom hole. It is a simple principle in hydraulics 
which you may demonstrate to your own satisfaction by fill ng 
an ordinary tumbler with water and then inverting it in a 
saucer of water. There is no way for the air to get to the 
inside of the tumbler except by passing under the rim at the 
points where it touches the saucer, consequently it does not 
flow down unless the water is removed from the saucer, and 
then it ceases as soon as the water in the saucer rises ovei 
the rim of the tumbler again. In fact, some self -drinkers 
for poultry are made of two pieces of pottery exactly on the 
principle of the tumbler and saucer. These fountains are not 
so practical as the fountain which we illustrate, because a 
pigeon can roost on the top of it and foul the saucer with its 
droppings. In the fountain which we picture it is impossible 
for droppings to reach the mouth containing the water, even 
if the pigeon is perched directly on top of the fountain. The 
barrel shape of the fountain makes it hard for more than one 
pigeon to perch at the same time on its top, but one pigeon 
usually is found there. He gets there, for the special purpose, 
it seems, of fouling the water, but the fountain beats him 
and he can't do it. Neither can he put his feet into the water 
unless he is an extraordinary gymnast capable of holding his 
body out at an angle to the perpendicular. The result is, 
that in actual practice the water keeps clean, and there is a 
supply of it ready about all the time. A fountain of a gallon 
capacity will keep two or three dozen pairs of breeders supplied 
all day. The fountain is filled by turning it on end and 
pouring water down into the opening. If you fill the fountain 
at tht same time you fill the bath pan in the morning, you 
will have done your duty by the pigeons for the day. 

Cleanse these fountains at least once every two weeks 
with sea 1 ding hot water containing squab-fe-nol (pigeon 
disinfectant; see our price-list for description). 

The best place for the bath pan is out in the yard of the 
flying pen. A pan fifteen inches in diameter is right for a 
flock up to twelve pairs of birds. The pan should be from 
four to six inches deep, not over six inches, for a pigeon will 



WATER AND FEED 53 

not bathe in water where it would be likely to drown if pushed 
or sat on by its mates. Having the bath pan in position on 
the ground of the flying pen, you take to it once each day, 
in the morning, a bucket of water, and pour the water into the 
pan Then you can go away to business, if you wish. The 
pigeons will fly to the pan from the interior of the house, or 
from the roof, wherever they happen to be. Some will 
splash right in. Others will perch on the rim and drink 
before they bathe. When the water gets dirty, they know 
enough not to drink, unless they are very sorely pressed 
indeed for water. The water gets quite dirty from the bath- 
ing. A thick, greasy, white scum forms. The pigeons do 
not rustle in the dirt, as a hen does, but rely on the water 
to keep them clean and dainty. They flap their wings in the 
water and enjoy it thoroughly. A pigeon will never run 
away from water, as you will discover if when you are water- 
ing your lawn you turn the hose on them. 

Let the dirty water stand in the bath pan all day if you 
choose, or you may go to it an hour or two after you have filled 
the pan, and empty the water. One bath a day is enough. 

If there 'is a stream of water running through your property 
handy to your squab house, build your flying pen out over 
it and you need never trouble with bath pans or drinking 
water. If it is a deep stream, you will have to contrive a 
shallow bath tub at the shore, or divert part of the stream 
into a shallow run. The squab raiser with a stream of water 
handy should by all means make use of it and save himself the 
work of carrying water in pails. 

The bath pan may rest in a basin, if you choose, and the 
overflow caused by the splashing of the wings may be con- 
ducted to a sewer and* drained away. You may conduct- 
water in pipes and have a faucet opening out over the bath 
pan, which faucet you may control either directly or from 
a central station. An easy home-made arrangement to be 
used in conjunction with the bath pan consists of a wet sink 
in which the bath pan sits, and out of which the splashed 
water runs. In the winter it may be advisable to give your 
pigeons their bath in the squab house instead of in the yard 
of the flying pen, in which case you should have some device 
on the wet-sink principle to prevent the floor of the squab 
house from getting damp. 



54 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

In northern latitudes it is not necessary nor desirable for 
the pigeons to bathe on cold winter days. Wait until a warm 
and sunny day comes. It will do the birds no harm to go 
for weeks in the winter without bathing. Many of our 
customers write us that they allow their birds to bathe in the 
winter seldom or not at all. 

Feed may be given to pigeons in a less guarded way, for 
they do not soil the feed dish so freely as they do the drinking 
dishes. You may put the feed in open troughs (or on a flat 
board with a rim around it) in the squab house. If you 
observe them when eating, you will notice that they stand up 
to the feed in a somewhat orderly manner and peck at its 
contents. They do not sit in the dish and roll around in the 
feed as they do in the water. But they have one fault when 
eating and that is, to scatter the grains. They will push in 
their bills and toss them around in a search after tidbits, and 
scatter out on the floor kernel after kernel, and it will make 
your bump of economy ache to see this grain scattered around. 
There do not seem to be any neat, saving pigeons which go to 
the floor in the wake of their prodigal brethren and eat the 
crumbs. They all have a fancy for the first table and they 
get right at it and scatter the grain like the rest of their fellows, 
and apparently the pigeon who scatters the most grain is the 
one which struts around with the biggest front. The way 
to fool them is to provide in the squab house a covered trough, 
that is, covered except at the slit or points where they stick 
in their bills for food. With a little ingenuity you can cover 
an ordinary v-shaped trough so that it will be hard for the 
pigeons to waste the grain. You may have a self-feeder made 
as big or as small as you choose and in which the grain will 
drop down as it is eaten. 

We will try to present the matter of feed as clearly and 
fully as it seems to us to be possible. A woman in Santa 
Cruz, California, said she would like to raise squabs, and 
would begin by ordering her feed of us, exactly as we recom- 
mended, to be sent to her by freight from Boston via the 
Southern Pacific. A man in Cleveland ordered a quantity of 
red wheat and cracked corn to be sent by freight from us, 
when there were thousands of bushels of both staples in 
elevators in his city, in fact most of the Boston supply had 
passed through his city. We did not like to run the chance of 



WATER AND FEED 55 

losing the order for breeding stock either of the woman in 
Santa Cruz or of the gentleman in Cleveland, but we wrote to 
both that they ought not to go into the squab-raising business 
if they were to be dependent on us for grain, that it was too 
far to send and that if they would look around home they 
could get what they wanted. 

Here in New England we feed to pigeons cracked corn, red 
wheat, hemp-seed, Canada peas, kaffir corn, — the foregoing 
as a rule, and sometimes, when cheap, buckwheat, millet and 
barley. 

It was formerly thought that whole corn was not a good 
food for pigeons, on the theory that the old pigeons would eat 
the large kernels and then, perhaps, feed them to squabs, 
choking them. In practice, not one case in one hundred like 
that will be found. Whole corn is much relished by pigeons. 
They will eat it before they will eat anything else, except 
hempseed, and there is no danger in using it. In many 
sections of the country, we find, good cracked corn is not so 
easy to procure as good whole corn. The grain dealers take 
their poor whole corn, sometimes, and work it over into 
cracked corn. Guod whole corn speaks for itself and when 
you buy it there is no doubt about it. 

All the time people write to us and say they never heard of 
red wheat. More write and say they don't know what kaffir 
corn is. Others are puzzled by hemp-seed, they have never 
seen any. That is surprising to us here in New England, but 
no doubt we would be just as surprised if we were in our 
customers' places. 

Let us see if we cannot level up the whole country on this 
question of feed for 'pigeons. As a rule, we say, feed the 
grains which are nearest you. This country has its corn belt, 
its wheat belt, its section where millet is raised. Buckwheat 
is plentiful in another section. For your leading grain, 
your staple, feed corn. The point to remember is to feed a 
variety of grains. Keep this word variety in your mind ail 
the time in dealing with your pigeons. Their appetites do 
not grow keen on a monotonous diet, they will not lay the 
eggs they should, and their health will not be good on it. 
Vary the diet. 

In order to find out what grains are convenient to you, go to 
your nearest grain dealer or country general store. The 



56 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

dealer in nine cases out of ten knows nothing about pigeons 
and their feed and if you give him the name of a strange grain, 
he wili be liable to shy and say he never heard of it. The 
trouble with him is that he sells horse feed and is accustomed 
to handling only the grains which horses need. He can get 
the grains you wish by writing to his nearest port or railroad 
junction. There is nothing odd or out of the way about the 
grains. They are going from one point to another all the 
time. Sometimes they are scarce at certain periods of the 
year. For instance, nearly every fall there is no kaffir corn 
at a reasonable price obtainable in Boston, so we do not feed 
it to our pigeons then, but cut it out altogether in favor of 
the grains selling at a lower price. Most of the kaffir corn 
which we get in Boston comes from Kansas. It is a splendid 
feed for pigeons. It is small and comparatively soft, and their 
crops make easy work of it. It is nourishing and they like 
it. Maybe your grain man sells a mixture for pigeons. If 
you will look in this mixture you will find probably kaffir 
corn, as well as buckwheat (in black kernels), also red wheat 
and Canada peas. 

A liberal supply of Canada peas and hemp-seed is necessary 
for a good egg production. 

Do not feed a great excess of corn, in the summer 
time. (By corn, we mean common Indian corn, not kaffir 
corn. Kaffir corn is harmless, even when forced on the 
birds.) The effect of corn is to heat the blood. This is what 
you want in the winter time, but not in the summer. 

Red wheat is better than white wheat to feed to pigeons 
because it is not so likely to cause diarrhoea. (See supple- 
ment of this book.) 

Beware of feeding too much wheat. Pigeons fed on an 
excess of wheat are constantly out of condition with continual 
diarrhoea and will lay no eggs while in that state. We recall 
vividly cases of pigeons doing poorly caused by the owner's 
stupidity in feeding too much wheat. One customer in 
Kansas fed nothing but wheat and got his birds so weak that 
they could not fly off the ground. Another in California with 
a flock of over one hundred pairs had not been able in six 
months' time to get more than one quarter of his birds at work. 
He complained bitterly that his birds were " not mated," 
were all cocks, and so on, but after further correspondence 



WATER AND FEED 57 

disclosed that he was feeding nothing but wheat, with the 
exception of a handful of peas in the middle of the week and 
a handful of hemp-seed on Sunday ! 

A properly balanced ration is necessary to egg production 
in the case of pigeons, same as poultry. 

Wheat is a good regulator for pigeons but corn is the great 
fattener and the main staple. 

When anybody fails with pigeons, if you pick up and handle 
the birds you will find in nine cases out of ten that they have 
sharp breastbones, which means that they are improperly 
nourished, oat of condition, and of course cannot produce 
eggs because they have not the blood and fat to do it. 

All the grains which you feed should be old, hard, dry and 
sweet. If they smell sour or taste bad to your own tongue, 
don't feed them to your pigeons. Above all, keep your grain 
dry. If you have the grain stored in bins which are damp 
from ground water, or which catch the drippings from the 
eaves, or through holes in the roof, first you will get sour grain 
and then some of the grain will sprout, and this sprouted grain 
will derange the bowels of your birds and bring on dysentery. 
Do not let rank little growths spring up in a dirty squab house 
or in the yard of your flying pen. Pigeons will peck at green 
leaves and grass and will not be harmed, but do not give them 
a chance to peck up sprouted grain and eat the sprout, grain 
and all, for if they do they will have diarrhoea. A pigeon in 
good condition and busy with a nest ordinarily will not touch 
a nasty little green sprout, but in the moulting season, when 
pigeons are in the dumps generally, and feeling like having a 
stimulant, they will experiment with these sprouts. Keep 
the floor of your squab house clean and the yard of the flying 
pen raked up and you need not worry about this matter. 

Ground oyster shell should be placed in a box handy for the 
pigeons to get at. The purpose of this oyster shell is to 
provide the constituents of the eggshell. The female pigeon 
needs it in order to form the egg. 

Grit is needed by the pigeons to enable them to reduce to 
powder the feed which they take into their crops The 
muscles of the crop work the grit on the grains and reduce 
the grains so that they mix with the digestive fluids. Cart 
two or three bushels of gravel or sharp sand into your flying 
pen and cover the ground with it. It is not necessary to 



WATER AND FEED 59 

cover the whole space of the ground of the flying pen. For 
fuller discussion of shells and grit, see supplement. 

It is poor policy to mix anything but wheat and 
corn together. If you make a mixture of peas and hemp- 
seed with cracked corn and wheat, you will find that the 
pigeons will dig down after the peas and hemp-seed and toss 
the other grain around and waste it. The only mixture, 
therefore, which we feed is a mixture of wheat and corn. 
Fill the self-feeder with whole corn and wheat, in the propor- 
tion of three parts of the corn to one of wheat. 

We call the wheat and corn staples, because with 
us in New England they form the major part of the diet, and 
are the cheapest. The hemp-seed, buckwheat, Canada peas, 
kaffir corn, millet and barley we call dainties. We do not 
feed much millet, because we have the other grains, which 
are cheapest, but some of our customers in the millet sections 
of the country feed a good deal of millet. In such cases they 
look on millet as one of their staples, and the hard-to-get 
grains are classed by them as dainties. The staple grains of 
which you will feed the most to your pigeons are the ones 
which are the cheapest for you. The more expensive grains 
will be classed by you as dainties. 

A good way to feed the dainties is to throw them out on 
the floor of the squab house by hand. You will see the 
pigeons make a rush for them and eat them with as much 
relish as a child eats candy. You should feed the dainties 
about three times a week, throwing handfuls on the floor 
until you see that the pigeons are satisfied and do not care for 
any more. 

Do not throw any feed on the ground of the flying pen, for 
the earth is liable to be damp, and this dampness will sour 
the grain, especially cracked corn, and if the pigeons eat it, 
they will get sour crops, and the fluids from the sour crops of 
the parent pigeons will make the squabs sick and perhaps kill 
them. Do all your feeding in the squab house and your 
pigeons will not have sour crops. 

Do not lay in a big stock of cracked corn at a time, for 
cracked corn exposed to sudden changes of the weather is 
liable to take up dampness, and sour. Smell and taste it once 
a week or so and determine to your own satisfaction that it 
is not sour. 



60 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Some squab breeders feed twice a day, as much as the birds 
will eat up clean, but we do not believe in that system of 
feeding. Our own success, and the success of our customers 
in squab raising, is based largely on the fact that we insist on 
a continuous supply of food for the pigeons, when they are 
breeding. Use the self-feeder only with birds that are pro- 
ducing squabs. A new flock should be fed by hand twice 
daily what they will eat up clean in ten minutes. Keep them 
eager, active and racy. Do not let them get too fat, for if 
you do they will not start laying. Some beginners will use 
up weeks trying to get their birds started, others get all their 
pairs going in a few days. It is a matter of skillful feeding, 
exactly as in the case of hens. The best of mated pairs will 
not produce eggs unless nourished, because the act of copula- 
tion, as in the case of hens and roosters, has nothing to do 
with the volume of egg' production, but only with the fertility 
of eggs. 

Food should be at hand in the self-feeder for birds which 
are breeding. They do not gorge, as a horse will if an un- 
limited supply of food is set before him. They are not 
gluttons, like pigs. They do not lose their racy shape. A 
squab when hungry will squeak loudly to inform its parents 
of that fact and if you observe a squab house where the two 
meals a day are in vogue, you will note quite a chorus of 
squeaks. In a house where there is feed always at hand, 
you will not hear many hungry squeaks. It is greatly to 
your interest that the crops of your young birds be filled with 
food. The more their crops are stuffed with food, the quicker 
they will fatten and the fatter they will get. The parent 
birds should at all times be able to fill up their crops with feed 
and water and then fly to the nest to disgorge for the benefit 
of the squabs. 

Squab breeders differ concerning self-feeders, same as 
mothers differ about ways of bringing up babies. Each squab 
breeder thinks his method of feeding is the best. We speak 
not wholly from our own experience, but the experiences of 
thousands of customers extending over many years. There 
was formerlv the same prejudice against self-feeders for 
poultry, until a man in Ohio, raising poultry with striking 
success by the aid of self-feeders, made his brethren sit up and 
take notice. In our stories of success printed at the back of 



WATER AND FEED 61 

this book and elsewhere, are many cases of small flocks 
increased enormously, and the writers take pains to state 
that they are using the self-feeder. That is talk that means 
something. The loudest advocate of no self-feeder is the 
man who is trying hard to sell his Homers by some kind of a 
story different from what we tell. It does not matter to him 
what he says, so long as he combats us. It is the game of such 
chaps to contradict all others and pose as the only real, 
simon-pure know-it-alls on pigeons. 

Some small parent Homers are such good feeders, such good 
fathers and mothers, that they stuff their squabs with grain 
and bring them up to a surprising fatness. We have had 
pairs of squabs which actually at four weeks of age were 
bigger than their parents. This is not surprising when you 
think that the squabs sit in their nest hour after hour doing 
nothing but accumulate fat, and taking no exercise to train 
off this fat. The old birds are flying around and do not have 
much fat on them; they are trim and muscular, and hard 
fleshed. You can tell an old pigeon after it is cooked when 
you put your teeth into it, just as you can tell an old fowl. 

Provide salt for your pigeons to keep them strong and 
healthy. The safest kind of sari for you to use is rock salt, 
such as is sold for horses. Put a couple of big lumps of it in 
the squab house and let the pigeons peck at it when they wish. 
Put two more lumps out in the flying pen. When rain comes 
the water will wash some salt off the lumps into the gravel. 
(Empty the bath pans upon the lumps of salt.) The pigeons 
will eat this salt-impregnated gravel all around the lumps for 
an inch or so down into the ground. 

Do not feed powdered salt, for if you do the birds mav eat 
too much of it and it will kill them. Coarse ground salt may 
be used, but the rock salt is best. 

Some green stuff is much relished by pigeons. It is good 
for them and will increase the egg, and, consequently, squab 
production. They are very fond of cabbage now and then, 
which should be chopped fine before being fed. (We mean 
raw, not cooked, cabbage.) When vines grow over the flying 
pen, they will be seen pecking at the green leaves. Green 
clover may be cut up and fed to them in conjunction with 
grain. It should be remembered that green stuff, as enu- 
merated in this paragraph, is fed only as a relish. 



62 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Table scraps, or what is commonly known as swill, should 
not be fed to pigeons. 

Rice may be fed, if plentiful and cheap. It has a tendency 
to correct diarrhoea caused by too much wheat. 

Some of our customers have been influenced by adverse 
criticism of our self-feeder to abandon it and feed in open 
troughs, but they have gone back to the self-feeder. One of 
these customers was Mr. Tyson, who started with several 
hundred pairs of our birds three years ago and now (1907) has 
the largest and best plant in the State of New Hampshire. 
His wife and son, with himself, have attained a high degree of 
skill and proficiency in the handling of their pigeons. The 
squabs they are breeding weigh at least nine pounds to the 
dozen. They ship to New York City, where they get very 
high prices. Mr. Tyson started by using the self-feeder for 
grain, as we advise, but being influenced by something seen in 
print, abandoned it and gave the open-trough method of feed- 
ing, twice or three times a day, a thorough trial. Immediately 
the birds began to fall off in production, and the squabs fell 
off in weight, some lots getting so skinny as to lose nearly two 
pounds to the dozen. That experience was enough. The 
Tysons went back to the self-feeder and now their squabs are 
plump, as they were in the first place, the old birds are in 
better condition, and breeding better. 

Do not put into the self-feeder a great lot of grain, but only 
enough to last about two days. A great quantity is liable to 
take up moisture in a spell of rainy weather and go stale, and 
is not relished by the birds as if it were supplied fresh every 
two or three days. 

Remember that grit is not oyster shell, nor is oyster shell grit. 
You must have both. We sell tons of our Plymouth Rock 
health grit, and it is the best economy to feed it. We have sold 
it for twelve years and our customers recommend it unre- 
servedly. We are shipping it constantly all over the United 
States. Beware of imitations of the Plymouth Rock health 
grit, the " just as good " kinds, etc. See page 116 of this book 
for directions for feeding our health grit. See page 286 for a 
photograph of it. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LAYING AND HATCHING. 

Laying an Egg is under the Control of the Pigeon's Mind — 
Fertile and Infertile Eggs — -How the Cock Drives the He^ — 
One Day between Eggs — Hatch after Seventeen Days 
— How Squabs are Fed by the Par en' Birds — Mating 
Males and Females — Use of the Mating Coop — Determina- 
tion of Sex — Color of Feathers Has No Effect on Color of 
Flesh — Pigeons Left to Themselves Will Not Inbreed — No 
Inbreeding Necessary even if you Start wi'h a Small Flock. 

The hen pigeon builds the nest. When the nest is built, 
the cock begins to " drive " the hen around the house and 
pen. In a flock of breeding pigeons you always will see one 
or two cocks " driving " their mates, pecking at them and 
nagging them with the purpose of forcing them onto the nest 
to lay the eggs. The cock seems to take more interest in the 
coming family than the hen. 

The hen lays one egg in the nest, then skips a day and lays 
the second egg on the third day. Seventeen days after being 
laid the eggs hatch. The egg first laid hatches a day before 
the second, sometimes, but usually the parents do not sit 
close on the first egg, but stand over it, and do not incubate 
it. Sometimes one squab may get more than its share of 
food, and the younger one will weaken and die. This seldom 
happens but if you see one squab considerably larger than the 
other, the thing to do is to exchange with a squab from 
another nest that is nearer the size of the remaining squab. 
The old birds will not notice the change but will continue 
feeding the foster squab. 

The process of laying an egg is a mental operation. We 
mean by this that it is not a process which goes on regularly 
in spite of all conditions. The hen forms the egg in her body 
and lays it when she is in condition to, and when she wants 
to, not when she is forced to. In other words, the hen lays 
when conditions are satisfactory to her. That she forms the 
egg at will is proven by many things, principally by the fact 
that she allows one day to come in between the first and 

63 



THE QUICK GROWTH OF SQUABS FROM EGGS TO KILLING AGE 
IN FOUR WEEKS IS ILLUSTRATED ON THIS PAGE, 
PAGE 66 AND PAGE 68. 




EGGS IN THE NEST. 




SQUABS JUST HATCHED. 



LAYING AND HATCHING 65 

the second eggs. No doubt, after she has laid the first egg, 
she hurries the other along and lays it as soon after the first 
as she can, and it takes forty-eight hours for the egg, complete 
in its wonderful construction, to form. Hen pigeons in a ship- 
ping crate or close coop do '"not" lay eggs," because they know 
that there are no facilities there for raising young. Once in 
a while you will find an egg in a shipping crate when the 
birds are taken out, but it is a comparatively rare occurrence. 

Of course, in order to lay a fertile egg, the hen pigeon 
must have received the attention of the cock bird. It is 
common for a hen pigeon at five months, and sometimes 
four, to lay an egg, but as a rule those first eggs from a young 
hen are not fertile because she has not yet mated with the 
cock bird. You can tell by holding the egg up to the light 
,J:ter it is five or six days old. If no embryo shows, the 
egg may be destroyed. In starting a flock, always purchase 
the adult, mature breeders. We formerly repeated the state- 
ment from hearsay that the male pigeon may lose vitality 
when from six to ten years old, but this is not so, as we 
know now from experience that customers to whom we sold 
six to eight years ago are breeding at the same rate the same 
pigeons with which they started, and they were from one to 
two years old when sold. 

From the day of its hatching to market time the squab 
is fed by its parents. The first food is a liquid secreted in 
the crop of both cock and hen, and called pigeons' milk. 
The parent pigeons open their bills and the squabs thrust 
their bills within to get sustenance. This supply of pigeons' 
milk lasts from five to six days. It gradually grows thicker 
and in a week is found to be mixed with corn and wheat in small 
particles. When about ten days old, the squabs are eating 
hard grain from the crops of the mature cock and hen. They 
fill up at the trough, then take a drink of water and fly to 
the nest to minister to the little ones. You see how im- 
portant it is to have food available at all times. 

In fourteen, fifteen or sixteen days after the first pair of 
squabs have been hatched, the cock begins " driving " the 
hen again. This shows the necessity of a second nest for the 
pair. In this second nest the hen lays two more eggs, and 
the care of the first pair of squabs, now between two and three 
weeks old, devolves upon the cock. When this pair is four 




SQUABS ONE WEEK OLD. 




SQUABS TWO WEEKS OLD. 



66 



LAYING AND HATCHING 67 

weeks old, it is taken out of the nest and killed and both the 
mature birds are concerned then only with the new hatch. 
This sequence of eggs and hatches goes on all the time. 

If there are not two nests, the two new eggs will be laid in 
the nest where are the growing squabs. The parents in their 
eagerness to sit on the new eggs will push the squabs out of 
the nest and they will die for lack of sustenance. 

The hen lays the eggs about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
The cock and hen take turns at covering the eggs, the hen 
sitting during the night until about ten o'clock in the morning, 
when the cock relieves her, remaining on until the latter part 
of the afternoon. 

When the squabs are taken out for market at the end of four 
weeks, the nest bowl and nest box should be cleaned. If 
this cleaning is done once a week, no trouble from parasites 
will result. In the summer it is well to add a little carbolic 
acid to the whitewash as an extra precaution. Sprinkle 
unslaked lime on the floor of the squab house and in the nest 
boxes, and spiay squab-fe-nol freely. 

One way of mating or pairing pigeons is to turn males and 
females in equal number into the same pen. They will seek 
their own mates and settle down to steady reproduction. 
Another method is to place the male and female which you 
wish to pair in a mating coop or hutch. In the course of a few 
days they will mate or pair and then you may turn them loose 
in the big pen with the others. The latter method is necessary 
when improving your flock by the addition of new blood, or 
when keeping a positive record of the ancestry of each pair. 
By studying your matings, you may improve the efficiency 
of your flock. 

In the case of a new flock of pigeons shipped to a new 
home, all do not go to work at the same time. Those pairs 
which get to work first are bothered by the slower pairs. To 
judge from the advertisements of some breeders, anxious to 
claim everything for their birds and their wonderful matings, 
the beginner would think that all the birds he buys from them 
will go to work immediately when released in their new home. 
This is far from the truth. The pairs will go to work to suit 
themselves as to time. Some will be quick, others slow. As 
fast as each pair goes to work, it should be caugM and placed 
in the breeding pen. The first pen, into which the birds 




SQUABS THREE WEEKS OLD. 




SQUABS FOUR WEEKS OLD. 
Ready to be killed for Market. 



68 



LAYING AND HATCHING 69 

were put on arrival, then can be used for the rearing pen for 
youngsters raised in the breeding pen. 

In case a pigeon loses its mate by death or accident, the sex 
of the dead one must be ascertained. The live one should be 
removed from the pen and placed in the mating coop with a 
pigeon of the opposite sex. 

The mating coop should have a partition of lattice work or 
wire. Place the cock in one side, the hen in the other, and 
leave them thus for two or three days to flirt and tease each 
other, then remove the central lattice work or wire and they 
usually will pair, or mate. If they show no disposition to 
pair but on the contrary fight, replace the partition and try 
them for two or three days longer. If they refuse to pair 
after two or three thorough trials, do not experiment any 
more with them, but select other mates. 

The determination of the sex of pigeons is difficult. The 
bones at the vent of a female are as a rule wider apart 
than of a male. If you hold the beak of a pigeon in one 
hand and the feet in the other, stretching them out, the 
male bird usually will hug his tail close to its body — ■ the 
female will throw her tail. The best way to determine the sex 
is to watch the birds. The male is more lively than the 
female, and does more cooing, and in flirting with her usually 
turns around several times, while the female seldom turns 
more than half way around. The male may be seen pecking 
at the female and driving her to nest. When one pigeon is 
seen chasing another inside and outside the squab house, 
the driven one is the female and the driver her mate. 

Neither the squab breeder nor the flying-Homer breeder 
is much concerned about the color of feathers. There are 
blue checkers, red checkers, black checkers, silver, blue, 
brown, red, in fact about all the colors of the rainbow. Color 
has no relation to the ability of a pair to breed a large pair of 
squabs. We wish specially to emphasize the fact that the 
color of the feathers has no influence on the color of the skin 
of the squab. A white feathered bird does not mean a white- 
skinned squab. The feed affects the color of the meat a kittle. 
A corn-fed pigeon will be yellower than one fed on a mixture. 
Squabs with dark skins (almost black in some cases) are the 
product of blood matings. The trouble with a dark-colored 
squab is in the blood and the only remedy is to get rid of them 




THE MATING COOP. 
One way of mating squab breeders is to turn cocks and hens in equal numbers 
into the same Den. The m iting coon is used when the breeder wishes to pair a 
certain male with a certain female. The above mating coop is divided by a partition. 
The cock is placed on one side of the partition, the hen on the other, as pictured. 
They are left thus for a day or two to tease each othci Then raise the partition, 
or take it out, and allow them to approach each othc. when they usually will be 
found to have formed an attachment. This being the case, they may be put into 
the laree pen with the other birds, where they will find a nest box and go to house- 
keeping. If they fight when the partition is removed, try again, or try other mates. 
The coop pictured above is two feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep. 



70 



LAYING AND HATCHING 71 

either by killing the parents or by remating. Usually the 
trouble comes from one parent bird, which you find by turning 
up the feathers and examining the skin. Having found the 
bird which is at fault, kill it. This point has come up con- 
tinually in our correspondence. The erroneous belief that 
white-feathered birds produce the whitest-skinned squabs 
seems to be widespread and we are asked sometimes for a 
flock of breeders " all white." Our experience with all white 
Homers is that they are smaller and have less stamina than 
the colored ones. The marketmen will take two cr three pairs 
of dark-skinned squabs in a bunch without comment, but 
an excess of dark ones will provoke a cut in price. Breeders 
who are shipping only the undressed squabs should pluck 
feathers now and then to see just what color of squabs they 
are getting. The dark-colored squabs are just as good eating 
as the light-colored ones, but buyers for the hotels and clubs, 
and those who visit the stalls, generally pick out the plump 
white-skinned squabs in preference to the plump dark-skinned 
ones. As a rule, squabs from Homer pigeons are white- 
skinned — the dark-colored squab is an exception. 

Many beginners wish to know if it will be all right for them 
to buy a flock and keep it in one house for six months or a 
year, paying no attention to the mating or pairing of the 
young birds, but leaving that to themselves, so as to get 
without much trouble a large flock before the killing of the 
squabs for market begins. Certainly, you may do this, 
providing extra nest boxes from time to time until your 
squab house has been filled with nests; then you will have 
to provide overflow quarters. We are asked if the flock will 
not become weakened by inbreeding, that is, a brother bird 
mating up to a sister, by chance. According to the law of 
chances, such matings would take place not very often. 
Pigeons in a wild state, on the face of a cliff, or in an abandoned 
building, would pair by natural selection. The stronger 
bird gets the object of its affection, the weaker one is killed 
eft or gets a weaker mate, whose young are shorter-lived, so 
the inevitable result is more strength and larger size. Nature 
works slowly, if surely. A lot of pigeons in one pen mating or 
pairing as they please when old enough is the natural way, 
and if you follow this, you cannot go very far wrong. We 
advocate matings by the breeder because it hurries Nature 



72 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

along the path which makes most money for the breeder.' 
We all know how Darwin studied natural and forced selection 
of pigeons. He took one pigeon with a certain peculiarity, 
say a full breast, and mated it to another pigeon with a full 
breast. The squabs from these birds, when grown, had 
breasts fuller than their parents. Then these in turn were 
mated to full-breasted pigeons from other parents, and the 
grandchildren had even larger breasts. Darwin's experi- 
ments covered a period of over twenty years and in this time he 
developed li tie faults and peculiarities to an amazing degree. 
Every intelligent, careful pigeon breeder is striving by his 
forced matings to push along the path of progress the peculiar- 
ity in pigeons which is his specialty. The breeder who selects 
most carefully and keeps at it the longest wins over the 
others. By selecting from your best and most prolific 
breeders the biggest and fattest squabs, keeping them for 
breeders and mating so as to get something larger and plumper, 
you are all the time getting bigger squabs. Every breeder 
of squabs has it in his power to increase the efficiency of his 
flock by studying his matings. There is commerical satis- 
faction in breeding for size and plumpness because it pays 
at once, and at the same time the breeder has the satisfaction 
of increasing the stamina and variety of pigeons. 

To be master of the matings, the breeder should band his 
squabs. As soon as they are weaned (that is, as soon as the 
breeder sees them flying to the feed and eating it) they should 
be taken and put into one of the rearing pens. When about 
six months old, the breeder should begin mating them by 
selection, using the mating coop, then when they are mated 
turn the pair into a working pen with other adult birds. By 
looking at the number on the band of each bird, then on your 
record card, you know how to avoid mating up brother and 
sister. 

When the young birds are just over four weeks old, or 
between four and six weeks, they are able to fly a little, and 
if they do not hop out of the nest (or are not pushed out by 
the parents) you may push them out yourself. They :.re 
now able to feed themselves. If these young birds are left 
in the squab house, they will bother the old birds by begging 
for food, and this infantile nagging will hinder the regular 
breeders in their next hatch, so the very best thing to do is 



LAYING AND HATCHING 73 

to put the young birds by themselves into a rearing pen, 
where they cannot bother anybody. 

Of course there is likely to be a little inbreeding when you 
'eave the birds to choose for themselves, but not much. If 
the breeder has not the time to make forced matings, then 
he may not care to make them. Remember in mating that 
!:'.:e begets like. The parent bird that feeds its young the 
most, and most often, will raise the biggest squab. Some- 
times a parent bird will have fine nursing abilities and will 
stuff its offspring with food. These good-feeding qualities 
are transmitted from one generation to another and are as 
much under the control of the breeder as size and flesh-color. 
Your biggest squabs will be found to have an extra-attentive 
father or mother, or both. A pigeon with a dark skin, if 
mated to a white-skinned bird will produce a mulatto-like 
squab. It is the large, fat, white-fleshed squab which you are 
after. Disregard the color of the feathers when mating. 
If when plucking your squabs you come across a " nigger," 
that is, a squab with a dark skin, find out what pair of breeders 
it came from and whether the cock or the hen is at fault, 
and get rid of the faulty one. It is important to start with 
adult birds that are not related, then you will not begin 
inbreeding. That»is why we make a special effort with our 
adult birds to have them unrelated. 

Some letters from customers make plain to us that a clear 
knowledge of what inbreeding means is not possessed by 
everybody. Several have written to this effect: " If I buy 
two or three dozen pairs from you to start, how can I increase 
the size of my flock without inbreeding?" When (1) a 
brother is mated to sister or (2) a father to a daughter, or (3) 
a mother to a son, or (4) a grandson to his grandmother, etc. 
that is inbreeding. We know it is forbidden by law for 
human beings to mate in that manner, because (a) God in the 
Scriptures has forbidden it, and (b) because the State does 
not wish to have to care for the puny, weak-minded offspring 
that would result from such unions. We all know that the 
marriages of cousins often result in demented, diseased chil- 
dren. Now suppose you buy two dozen pairs of pigeons of 
us, and number them pairs one to twenty-four. If you mate 
the offspring of pair two (or any other pair)to the offspring of 
pair one (or any other pair) that is outbreeding or cross- 



74 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

breeding. What you do not do, and what you try to prevent, 
is the mating of the offspring of pair number one (or any other 
pair) to each other. So, you see, if you have a dozen or two 
pairs, you need never inbreed, for there is an infinite variety 
of matings possible. Breeders of animals sometimes inbreed 
purposely in order to get better color of fur or plumage, or 
finer bones, etc. There are no brothers and sisters in the 
flocks we sell. If you buy one dozen or twenty dozen pairs 
of breeders of us, the pairs will be unrelated, and you need 
never inbreed. We never heard a real pigeon breeder worry 
much about inbreeding, because the likelihood of it in a flock 
of even a dozen pairs is extremely remote, as we have demon- 
strated above. 




PIGEONS IN ST. MARK'S SQUARE, VENICE. 
Get acquainted with the pigeons which you buy of us, and let them get ac- 
quainted with you. They will work all the better for being tame and docile. These 
pigeons in Venice are fed by tourists on corn only. A peddler selling whole corn 
for two cents a package sits all day long on the steps at the base of the monument. 
Several photographers in the square make a specialty of taking pictures of tourists 
feeding the pigeons; snap shots by amateurs are constantly being made. In this 
city of canals, these pigeons get no grit, in fact nothing but the corn, and they would 
die if obliged to pick up a living for themselves. They are healthy, proving the 
incorrectness of the assertion that a feed of nothing but corn will cause canker. 
They are small, however, of stunted growth. They are so tame that they will perch 
on your hand and eat grains of corn held in your lips. 



CHAPTER VII. 

INCREASE OF FLOCK. 

It is Possible to Breed One Pair of Squabs Each Month, but 
in Actual Practice this is Seldom Attained — The Squab 
Raiser with Pure Thoroughbred Homers should Count on 
Six to Nine Pairs of Squabs a Year — The Common Pigeon 
Breeds Only Four or Five Pairs of Squabs a Year, but 
Eats as Much or More than the Homer — Differences 
between the Homer and the Common Pigeon — Good Homers 
Scarce and the Market for them Firm, and Steady. 

It is theoretically possible for a pair of pigeons to breed 
twelve pairs of squabs a year, for it takes only seventeen 
days for the eggs to hatch, and the hen goes to laying again 
when the hatch is only two weeks old. So, if you start with 
twelve pairs of Homer pigeons, and they should breed one 
pair of squabs a month, at the end of the first month you 
would have twenty-four squabs; at the end of the second 
month, forty-eight squabs; at the end of the third month, 
seventy-two squabs; at the end of the fourth month, ninety- 
six squabs; at the end of the fifth month, one hundred and 
twenty squaos. Now the first lot of squabs which your birds 
hatched will be ready to mate and lay eggs, so at the end of 
the sixth month you should have one hundred and sixty- 
eight squabs; at the end of the seventh month, two hundred 
and forty squabs; at the end of the eighth month, three 
hundred and thirty-six squabs; at the end of the ninth 
month, four hundred and fifty-six squabs; at the end of the 
tenth month, six hundred squabs; at the end of 'the eleventh 
month, seven hundred and sixty-eight squabs, and at the end 
of the twelfth month, nine hundred and sixty squabs. Such 
figures are purely theoretical and are seldom attained in actual 
practice. You will have some pairs in your flock which 
will raise ten and eleven pairs of squabs a year, but the 
average will be seven to nine pairs of squabs a year. If you 
get less, your flock is not pure thoroughbred Homers, or your 
feeding and nesting arrangements are wrong. In our visit 
to squab breeders in 1902, we asked every one with whom 

75 



76 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

we talked how many pairs a year he was getting from his 
birds, and about all of them said seven to nine. This expe- 
rience corresponds with ours. We remember particularly 
an old gentleman, Preacher Hubbell, in Vineland, who had 
been in the squab business for years but was just going out 
of it, having sold his place, pigeons and all, to a Swede farmer. 
He told us he had always made squabs pay him and that his 
birds, of which he kept a careful record, raised him nine 
pairs to the year right along. 

It is a well-known fact that the common pigeon will breed 
only four or five pairs of squabs a year, and if handlers of big 
flocks of common pigeons, like Johnson of California, can make 
a net profit of one dollar per pair a year from such low breeders, 
we think anybody of no experience is justified in believing 
our statement that our Homers are capable of earning a net 
profit of from two to three dollars per pair a year, taking into 
account not only their fast breeding qualities, but the superior 
size of the squabs. Here in New England we consider the 
common pigeons inconstant and happy-go-lucky breeders. 
They are not in the same class at all with the Homer pigeon. 

The common pigeon, the pigeon which flies the streets of 
our cities and towns, is a mixture of all kinds of pigeons, and 
it partakes of the faults of each, and not of the virtues. Its 
outward appearance is large, but it is an effect of feathers and 
not of flesh. Its feathers are loose and fluffy an'", its muscles 
soft and flabby. Its head is smaller than that of a Homer, 
the deficiency being marked in the curve of the skull which 
covers the brain. The Homer has a white flesh ring around 
the eye, but the common pigeon has none. The Homer has 
the largest brain of any variety of pigeon, and discloses this 
fact by its behavior. It has more sense and behaves with 
more intelligence. Its wonderful homing instinct marks 
it above and beyond all classes of pigeons and it is this quality 
which gives it a commercial value all over the world. The 
feathers of the Homer are laid close like a woman's glove and 
the muscles under it feel as hard and firm as a piece of wood. 
Its breast is firm and well protected, with just the right amount 
of fullness. Its chest is large, indicating good lung power and 
staying qualities. Its wings are trim and shapely, in flight 
the poetry of motion. The poise of its body and head reminds 
one of a race-horse listening for the signal to speed over the 



INCREASE OF FLOCK 77 

course. The lines from the neck to the body descend in a 
long, graceful sweep. Put a thoroughbred Homer into a 
flock of common pigeons and even a novice, if told to pick out 
the bird which would fly the fastest and furthest, would pick 
out the Homer. The Homer has a long bill (but not so long 
as the Dragoon pigeon). The bill of the common pigeon is 
short. Its bill is more hooked and is sharper pointed. Its 
head is shorter and more rounding on top. 

The common pigeon is seldom bred in captivity, because it 
does not pay for the grain which it consumes. If bred in a 
wild state, it picks up a living in the neighborhood, the owner 
not keeping it wired in. It is the cheapest kind of a pigeon, 
and thousands of pairs are used by trap shooters. Under- 
takers sometimes buy the white common pigeons in order to 
liberate them at graves, to signify the ascent of the soul to 
heaven. Common pigeons will live anywhere, do not get 
attached to any home, but a Homer never forgets the place 
where it was bred and will search out its home in long flights. 
Common pigeons will alight on any building and will drink 
from different springs and wells, fouling them and making 
themselves a nuisance in a neighborhood. The Homer will 
alight only on its own squab house and drink only at its own 
home. Common pigeons sell for fifty cents a pair and are 
frequently offered as Homers. Do not start with common 
pigeons and think to learn the habits of squab breeders with 
them. If you cross a common with a Homer pigeon you will 
take away the good qualities of the Homer and add nothing. 
There is not one element in a common pigeon which if added 
to a Homer would improve the offspring. It is hard to 
convince some people that there is any difference in pigeons 
whose feathers are the same color. The result is they buy 
the cheapest they can get. After feeding them for a time and 
getting no profitable results, they are compelled to sell them 
to the first trap shooter who comes along, and they go among 
their townspeople declaring that the pigeon business is no 
good. Remember this point, that if you are going to buy 
grain and feed it to anything so as to get a profit, it is the 
best policy to feed it to that grade of animal which will show 
the largest profit. Very few people are satisfied with shoddy 
suits nowadays, even if they look almost as well as the all- 
wool garments. It is the wear which the customer is after. 



78 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Beware of shoddy pigeons. Buy the best Homers you can 
get, they will wear best and give you the most pride. Ex* 
perienced poultrymen do not go here and there looking for 
fowls at cut prices. They buy breeding stock of a reliable 
breeder which is reliable and sold at a price which will enable 
the seller to deliver a high quality article. We can tell when 
an order for our breeding stock comes from an old poultry- 
man, for they all write: " I want the best stock you can give 
me." 

Good Homers do not glut the markets. They are always 
fairly scarce, and the price for them has always been well 
kept up. Beware of cheap Homers for sale at cut prices. 
There is always something the matter with such birds. They 
have been worked too long and are played out, or if a flock 
is offered "ata bargain," the birds do not produce the large, 
plump, No. 1 squab, but only culls. If a squab breeder is 
going to quit the business and offers you his flock of birds on 
the bargain counter, make him give a good reason to you for 
selling. If he has been unable to make the flock pay, you may 
be sure that you will be unable to make them pay. If he 
offers them to you without a good reason for selling, the 
chances are that it is a poor flock and he has got tired of buying 
grain for them, and wishes to saddle the burden upon you. We 
are always selling breeders and it is very much to our interest 
to protect our reputation by sending out only good Homers 
that will make money for their owners. This is what we 
do, and our large business has been built up'by square dealing, 
and knowing the business thoroughly. 

A pair of Homers capable of earning a pair of squabs in one 
month which will sell for at least fifty cents is worth more than 
one dollar or one dollar and twenty-five cents a pair. A pair 
of birds capable of earning only a ten-cent or twenty-cent 
pair of squabs once in two or three months is worth only 
fifty cents a pair. Jersey cows are worth more than common 
cows because they earn more. Good Homer pigeons, bred 
skilfully, are worth more than poor Homers because they 
earn more. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

KILLING AND COOLING. 

Kill the Squabs in the Morning when their Crops are Empty 
— Not Necessary to Use a Knife, their Necks may be 
Tweaked — Drive the Animal Heat out of their Bodies by 
Hanging them from Nails — The Ideal Squab when 
Shipped has an Empty Crop, its Feet have been Washed 
Clean, and No Blood Shows — Sorting Squabs so as to Get 
the Highest Price from the Dealer. 

The time to kill the squabs is in the morning, when the 
crops are empty. In killing them it is not necessary to use 
a knife. Hold each squab in the manner shown in the 
illustration and break the neck with a sudden pull and push. 
Do not pull too hard or you will sever the neck from the body. 
Some of our customers have hard work to get this knack of 
tweaking the necks and prefer to wring the necks, or to use a 
knife. To wring the neck, hold the squab by the head in 
the right hand and throw the body around in a complete 
circle, this act twisting and breaking the neck. 

After the squabs are killed they must be cooled. In other 
words the animal heat must be driven out of their bodies. 
Provide a piece of board or studding eight or ten feet long and 
every four inches along this studding drive a couple of nine 
penny wire finish nails close together, but not so close that 
you cannot squeeze in the legs of the squabs. A finish wire 
nail has no large head like an ordinary wire nail. Suspend 
the studding from the ceiling by means of wire adjusted at 
both ends of the studding. This method of hanging it up is 
to prevent rats and cats from climbing up onto the studding, 
walking along it and eating the squabs. Place the feet 
of the squabs between the wire nails and let them hang down- 
wards over night. In the morning the heat will be all out of 
their bodies and you can pack and ship them. If you are 
delivering plucked squabs to market, you do not need such 
an arrangement, but will throw the bodies into a tub of ice 
water (or cold spring water) after you have plucked them. 

When plucking the feathers from the killed squabs, the 

79 




INCORRECT POSITION OF HANDS. 




CORRECT POSITION OF HANDS. 
A squab is killed for market when it is plump and well feathered, usually when 
four weeks old, although many are ready for market when a day or two over three 
weeks old. Hold the hands close together on the neck, as shown in the bottom 
picture and break the spine of the bird by pulling firmly and then pushing back. 
Do not put so much strength into the operation that you pull the head from the body. 
This method of killing is faster and neater than using a knife. 



80 



KILLING AND COOLING 81 

operator should moisten his thumb and forefinger in a basin 
of water, to give him a grip on the feathers. They come off 
easily and an experienced picker will work very rapidly. A 
sharp pen-knife, or knife such as shoemakers use, is necessary 
to remove some of the pin feathers. They should be shaved 
off. 

Ignorance of how to cool the killed squabs properly has 
discouraged many a squab raiser. If you throw the squabs 
in a pile on the floor after you have tweaked their necks, you 
will have a fermenting mass and the following morning, 
when you are ready to ship, many of the bodies will be dark- 
colored at the place of contact with the floor, or with other 
squabs, and decay will start from such discolored places. 
Hang the bodies from the studding, as we have described, and 
you wll cool them just right and. you will be surprised that 
this part of the business ever could have discouraged anybody. 

If you number the nails which .you have driven into the 
studding you will know just how many squabs you hang up, 
and you will not have to handle the squabs a second time to 
count them. 

The ideal squab which brings the highest price in the market 
is not only large and plump, but has a clean crop, so that no 
food will be left in it to sour. No blood shows anywhere on 
the body and its feet are clean. Ship in small quantities, 
especially in the summer. Do not pack in an enormous box, 
or the bottom layers will suffer. 

A squab should be killed, as we have stated, when from 
three to four weeks old, most generally at four weeks. Do 
not wait until it is five or six weeks old, when it may have left 
the nest. As soon as a squab is old enough to get out of the 
nest and walk around on the floor of the squab house, it 
quickly trains off its fat and grows lean and slender. Its 
flesh also loses its pure white coor and takes on a darker 
shade. You do not want either of these two conditions. 

If you tie up your killed squabs by the feet when shipping 
to market, do not tie a lean with a fat squab, for if you do the 
dealer probably will give you the price of the lean one. Put 
the fat squabs in one bunch and the lean squabs in another 
bunch. If you are shipping to two dealers, you can very 
often get the top price from both by giving one your best 
squabs and the other your second best. 




KILLED SQUABS HUNG TO COOL. 

After the squabs have been killed they should be hung as this picture shows to 

cool. 1'he wooden scantling or studding is several feet long and is suspended from 

the ceiling at its ends by wire, so that cats and rats cannot climb to the squabs. A 

pair of nails are driven in four inches apart and the squabs' legs set in between them 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE MARKETS. 

Squabs with the Feathers on Taken by the Boston and Some 
Other City Markets — The New York Market Wants Them 
Plucked and Pays the Highest Price of Any Northern City 
— Interpretation of Quotations of Squabs as Seen in the News- 
papers — White- Fleshed Squabs are Wanted, Not Dark- 
Fleshed. 

The Boston market, and the markets in some other cities, 
will take squabs with feathers on. It is only necessary for 
you to tweak the necks of the squabs and send them to the 
train, after they have cooled over night. Some shippers do 
not take the trouble to box the killed squabs, but tie their 
legs together with string and send them along to market. 
In the baggage cars of the trains running into Boston you will 
sometimes see strings of squabs going in to the dealers in this 
way. 

The New York market demands squabs plucked. The 
squab breeders who have large plants and who ship to the 
New York market employ pluckers and pay them by the 
piece. A skillful plucker will strip feathers from squabs at 
the rate of ten to twenty squabs an hour. The proper time to 
pluck the killed squab is immediately after killing. When 
picked clean, throw the squab into cold water and leave it 
there over night to plump out and harden the flesh. In the 
summer use ice water. 

The squab puts on more feathers than flesh during the 
last few days of its growth and if you see squabs which are 
only three weeks old, but which are of good size, you may save 
a week on feed by killing the squab at that age and plucking 
it. When the feathers are off of it, it looks like the four weeks 
squabs which have not matured so rapidly. 

If you are shipping to the New York market, you should 
pack your squabs in a neat white wood box, printed if you 
please. Do not use a pine box for if you do the odor of the 
pine will penetrate the squabs. 

The New York market for squabs is the best in the North. 

83 



84 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Squabs delivered by our customers there invariably bring 
from one to one dollar and fifty per dozen more than the 
Boston market. This is because there are more rich people 
in New York than there are in Boston, and they are more 
free with their money in providing luxuries for their table 
than Boston folks. We do not mean to disparage the Boston 
market for squabs, which is always good, averaging four 
dollars a dozen, but we wish to emphasize the fact that the 
New York market is a phenomenal one. Anybody living 
near New York can make a fortune raising squabs. Our 
largest orders have come from customers who are shipping 
to New York. 

Not all the New York newspapers print market quotation 
of squabs. The New York Evening Sun is an exception. 
All through the winter squabs are quoted in the Evening Sun 
at five dollars a dozen. This means that a squab breeder 
shipping to New York should have got six dollars and seven 
dollars for a choice product, from private customers. 

A correspondent in New York State sends a clipping from 
the New York Tribune's market columns and asks for an 
interpretation. We quote from it as follows: 

" Pigeons, 20c; squabs, prime, large, white, per doz., $3.50 
and $3.75; ditto, mixed, $2.75 and $3; ditto, dark, $1.75 
and $2." 

The quotation, " Pigeons, 20 cents," means twenty cents 
a pair for common old killed pigeons. . These tough old birds 
are occasionally found in the markets and are worth only 
ten or fifteen cents apiece. They are neither squabs nor the 
old Homer pigeons, but are common pigeons such as fly in 
the streets. A small boy might get a pair of these street 
pigeons and kill them and give them to a butcher who would 
pay him fifteen or twenty cents a pair. These cheap pigeons 
come into the eastern markets largely from the West in barrels 
and are sold to Boston commission men for five cents apiece, 
or fifty cents a dozen. They are retailed at from one dollar 
to one dollar and twenty cents a dozen. They are in the 
Chicago market masquerading as squabs. They have been 
killed with guns and have shot in their bodies. If you ask 
for pigeon pie at one of the cheap Boston restaurants, you 
will get a shot or two against your teeth with mouthfuls. 
After every trap-shooting contest some skulker goes over the 



THE MARKETS 85 

field and gathers up all the killed and mained birds he can 
find, and sells them for two and three cents apiece, or for 
anything he can get, and these find their way into the markets. 
The cruel practice of pigeon shooting by miscalled "sports- 
men " on Long Island is quite common, and the presence of 
these birds in the New York butcher shops accounts for the 
above quotation in the Tribune. It is unnecessary to add 
that such birds do not compete with squabs. They can be 
made palatable only by stewing for hours in a pie, which takes 
out a little of their toughness. There is now a law in New 
York forbidding pigeon shooting. 

As to squabs, the quotation, " Prime, large, white, per dozen 
$3.50 and $3.75," is for the kind of squabs that are raised 
from our Homers, namely, No. 1 grade. 

By the quotation, " Mixed, $2.75 and $3.00," is meant that 
these amounts are paid for lots of birds composed of No. 1 
and No. 2 grades, mixed. If you sort up your birds care- 
fully you will be able to get the No. 1 prices for all. Some 
people do not know how to sort them, and they have to be 
satisfied with the price of a mixed lot. 

By the quotation, " Dark, $1.75 and $2.00," is meant the 
dark-fleshed squabs, as you have learned by reading our 
Manual. Squabs whose flesh is dark do not sell for as much 
as the white-fleshed squabs. 

Pigeons are of all colors, i. e., as you see their feathers, and 
the squabs likewise, but when you pluck the feathers off the 
flesh is either a pure white with a tinge of yellow, or dark like 
a negro's skin. 

Quotations for squabs as found in the market reports in 
the newspapers are always lower than they really are. The 
writers of the market columns in the daily papers see only the 
commission men and cater only to them; they smoke the 
commission men's cigars and believe what the commission 
men tell them. They do not see the producer at all. The 
object of the commission men is to get the squabs as cheaply as 
they can. When you are breeding squabs make up your mind 
to get from twenty-five cents to one dollar or more per dozen 
than you see quoted in the market reports. The only way to 
find out the truth about the squab markets is to go into them 
and offer to buy squabs, not to sell them. Then you will learn 
the true prices. 




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THE MARKETS 87 

At the same time the report quoted above was printed in 
the New York Tribune a breeder in Mauricetown, N. J., was 
getting from four dollars and twenty-five cents to four dollars 
and fifty cents a dozen for his squabs. (This was the last 
week in January, 1902.) You see, it does not pay to trust 
wholly to the market reports in the newspapers. The motive 
of the city men is to get their goods as cheaply as they can. It 
is your motive to get as much as you can, and don't be fooled 
by second-hand information. Go direct to headquarters 
yourself in person and learn the truth. If the middleman 
tries to hold down the price to you, go to a consumer and 
make your bargain with him at top prices. 

A breeder in New Jersey writes that there are several 
squab breeders in his town, all of whom give their regular 
time to other businesses. He continues: " I am now (Feb- 
ruary, 1902), getting thirty-two cents each as they run, no 
sorting, for what few squabs I am now raising, and they 
are sold to a man who calls every Tuesday for them. When 
I have enough, I ship direct to New York by express. They 
sort them in New York." 

This is doing extremely well for unsorted squabs. It is 
only another bit of evidence which proves the money -making 
condition of the New York market. (The above correspon- 
dent's breeders are not first-class, he admits, saying he has 
been breeding for seven years and his flock has run down.) 

The Kansas City market does not yet know what a fat 
squab is. The only things obtainable there are the squabs of 
common pigeons, which are quoted low, as they are all over 
the country. A correspondent in Atchison writes: " I wrote 
to the Kansas City dealer again, telling him I thought his 
prices were pretty low for Homer squabs. He replied that 
they had so few Homers offered that they did not quote them, 
and they would be worth from two dollars to two dollars and 
fifty cents per dozen. He quoted common pigeon squabs at 
one dollar and twenty-five cents to one dollar and seventy-five 
per dozen, as I wrote you before. That is better, and I want 
to try raising them as soon as I can get into a place where I 
can handle them." 

Fact is, the squabs that bring from three to five dollars a 
dozen east of the Mississippi will bring that (and more) as soon 
as the wealthy trade of Kansas City gets a taste of them. 



88 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Find out for yourself whether your market wants squabs 
with the feathers on or off. We do not know such details 
about the squab market in every city in the country and can- 
not advise you accurately on this point if you write to us 
from a distant town or city. 

The best way to find out the facts concerning the squab 
market is to go from place to place, or to write, offering not to 
sell squabs but to buy them. The squab sellers are much 
more interested in a possible buyer than a possible seller. 
They receive letters from many inquirers about markets but 
as a rule pay scant attention to them unless the writer is 
really producing squabs and has them for sale. 




SQUA£ HOUSE BUILT OF LOGS 



CHAPTER X. 

PIGEONS' AILMENTS. 

Canker a Filth Disease which Makes its Appearance in Nasty, 
Cramped and Crowded Quarters — ■ It is a Captivity Disease 
and a Sure Cure for it is to Turn the Bird Loose to Get a 
Change of Food and Plenty of Exercise — A Flock Supplied 
with Pure Food and Clean Water Never will be Sick — ■ 
Canker is Not Epidemic — It does Not Pay to Dose a 
Sick Pigeon, Better Turn it Out to Get Well. 

The principal ailment met with by the squab breeder is 
.icanker. This ailment is a puzzle to some breeders and they 
|are alarmed when it makes an appearance in their flock, as 
it does if the feed is poor or sour, the water dirty, or the squab 
Ihouse filthy. The advice which they give when they find a 
;cankered bird is, "Kill it." That is the advice we used to 
give at first, but now we know better. First, what is canker? 
jit is a disease of which you know the cause (filth, poor feed or 
dirty water) and whose symptoms you see in the form of a 
cheesy-like deposit in the mouth of the pigeon, and breaking 
out around the bill. Catch the pigeon, hold it in your lap 
and force open its bill and you will see a yellowish patch or 
patches in the mouth, and the mouth will usually be filled 
with a yellowish deposit which smells bad. The disease is 
not serious. The trouble lies with the feed and the filth and 
that is what spreads the same symptoms from one pigeon to 
another. A case of canker in your flock should be a warning 
to you that the feed or water is wrong, or that you 
have a filthy house. Do not get alarmed and kill the bird. 
Catch the affected pigeon, carry it out of your flying pen 
and squab house and throw it into the air. The bird may 
fly away and lose itself, and if it does you are out one pigeon 
just as if you had killed it. The chances are, however, as in 
the case of any sick animal, that it will linger around home. 
Now you will be surprised to see how quickly that pigeon's 
health will improve. Not having a steady supply of food 
before it, it will have to hustle for a living, and this exercise 
and the change of living, and the scanty living, will effect the 

89 




PAIR OF HOMERS BILLING. 
This illustration is made from a photograph of a pair of our pigeons caught in 
the act of billing, or kissing. The pigeon on the left is the male and on the right 
the female. Billing is one of the acts of love making. Mounting and treading 
generally follow immediately after billing. 



90 



PIGEONS' AILMENTS 91 

cure. It will get more fresh air, and a great deal more exercise, 
and more sun, than it would get if leit in company with the 
other birds. In about a week you will notice tnat it will hold 
its bill tighter, and if there is a sore on the outside of the bill 
you will see this sore dry up. In two weeks the chances are 
that the yellowish deposit on the interior of the mouth will 
be entirely gone. The pigeon will hover around the other 
pigeons. It will fly to the outside of the netting and look at 
its fellows. Place a dish on the ground now and then with a 
little feed and you will attract it. Catch it when you have a 
favorable opportunity either with a net on the end of a pole, 
or with a broom, pinning it into a corner. You may have to 
try several times, but you will get it after a while. Its eye 
will be brighter and signs of disease will be gone, and you can 
put it back into the squab house with the others. The exer- 
cise, sunlight, change of food, and scanty food, have made 
the cure. There are few pigeons so bad with canker that they 
cannot be cured in this way. For that reason we have not 
much hesitation in saying that canker is a captivity disease, 
caused by lack of exercise as well as unavoidable filth and too 
much of the wrong kind of feed. We have observed wdd 
pigeons in the streets and we never saw a case of canker among 
them. You may say to yourself that it is quite a risk to 
throw out into the open air a pigeon which has cost you from 
seventy-five cents to a dollar, but it is better to do this than 
to take the advice of all other breeders and books and kill it. 

If you do not wish to throw a sick pigeon out into the air 
to get well, construct a box with wire netting over the front, 
and put the pigeon in there for special feeding and watering 
until it gets well. 

Powdered alum sprinkled in the drinking water now and 
then will tend to ward off canker from a flock. 

It does not pay to dose sick pigeons, because a cure seldom 
is obtained by dosing, and you are out your time. 

The squab breeder who follows the advice as to feed and 
water, and cleanliness of squab house, given in this Manual, 
will not have any sick pigeons. It is so very easy to keep a 
pigeon in perfect health that the fear of disease is a bugbear 
not worth taking into account. The element of disease is a 
constant source of worrv to the chicken breeder, and a source 
of heavy loss to the best of them. We wish to assure all who 



92 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

contemplate starting in the squab breeding business that the 
pigeon naturally is a healthier and more rugged bird than the 
domestic hen and that positively you will not be fussing with 
remedies and cure-alls, in handling them. 

" Going light," or wasting away, is an ailment of pigeons 
occasionally met with. The cause of it is an absence of grit 
and salt. If your staples of feed are provided as we tell, and 
you give a variety of feed, and you provide grit and oyster 
shells, you will have no cases of" going light." The disease 
is known by a steady wasting away of the pigeon. Catch 
it and you feel a prominent breastbone, and scanty flesh, show- 
ing that some element in the feed is lacking. 

Another cause of " going light " is the failure to feed enough 
grain, or enough Canada peas. Do not stint the peas for they 
are full of protein, which makes flesh and blood. Pigeons with 
no protein in their ration cannot produce eggs and squabs. 

A third cause of " going light " is the fast driving of the fe- 
males by the males. A bird found thin and poor in the breeding 
pen is almost always a. female which is being worked hard at 
domestic duties. Take her out of the breeding pen away from 
her mate and keep her alone or with other females in a small 
pen. Give her the usual variety of nourishing grain and let 
her rest and build up for a fortnight, or a month if necessary, 
until she is plump again, then put her back into the breeding 
pen with her mate. 

" Going light " is not a germ trouble and is not contagious, 
but the same cause which produced one case will produce others. 



CHAPTER XL 

GETTING AHEAD. 

Make your Birds Pay for themselves as they Go Along, 
unless you Wish to Wait Patiently until a Small Flock 
Increases to a Large One — ■ Better to Take the Money Made 
from Sale of Squabs and Buy More Adult Birds than to 
Raise the Squabs, Because it is a Long Jump from Four 
Weeks (the Killing Age) to Six Months, at which Age the 
Birds Begin Breeding — Shipping Points. 

It is the birds and not the buildings which count in squab 
raising and if you have fifty dollars to start, put thirty-five 
dollars or forty dollars into your birds and the balance into 
your building. We have had customers start with a hundred- 
dollar building and put a ten-dollar lot of birds into it, con- 
tinuing to buy ten-dollar lots of us about once a month until 
they had their flock to a good size, but we believe it is best to 
let the buildings follow the birds, and not the birds the 
buildings. In other words, let your birds earn buildings as 
they go along. It is quite a drag on a small flock to weigh it 
down with an expensive building much too large for it. 

Put this down in your mind solid, where you will not forget 
it: Make your pigeons pay for themselves as they go. 

We sell to a great many poultry men, and we like to get their 
orders, for they have been through the mill of raising feathered 
animals and are practical, and they are quick to see the money 
in squabs, and when their order for breeding stock comes 
along, it is in nine cases out of ten a large order, even if they 
have had no previous experience. They know that in order 
to sell squabs they have got to have birds enough to breed 
squabs and it is just as easy for them to spend fifty dollars or 
one hundred dollars at the start as it is for them to spend ten 
dollars or fifteen dollars and use up one hundred dollars' worth 
of time while waiting a year to begin selling squabs. 

Many beginners are so skeptical that they do not believe 
squabs grow to market size in one month, or they have no 
confidence in their ability to feed the mature birds so as to 
keep them alive. They wish to make a start with a few pairs 

93 



94 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

and actually convince themselves. We do not believe in 
untried hands plunging into something of which they know 
nothing, and we commend the caution of the beginner with 
squabs who wishes to feel his way and " make haste slowly " 
as the saying is, nevertheless we know it to be a fact that our 
customers who started with large flocks are making splendid 
successes, and we are not so cautious as we were in former 
books in advising a small purchase, at the start. The rules 
for breeding we have given have stood the test of time; we 
have not had it said to us that they are misleading or erroneous; 
on the contrary, our customers write and tell us that their 
experience corresponds with ours, that the books are all right, 
and our business has increased right along. When a customer 
orders two hundred dollars' worth of breeding stock of us and 
two months later two hundred dollars' worth more (we sell to 
some customers month after month steadily, as their means or 
their inclination permit them to buy) we are given a large 
measure of confidence, first, that people (many of whom we 
never see and who are not experts) can start with our writings 
and our breeding stock and make a success; second, that 
all we have advised about the industry is of general and con- 
vincing application; and third, that it does not take extraor- 
dinary skill to make a success with squabs. 

There are failures with squabs, even by college professors, 
because some beginners are unsuited to the business. Many 
are lured into it by get-rich-quick stories. It would amaze 
you to read the letters that some beginners write. You never 
can tell a man's pigeon and poultry ability by his orthography 
and grammar. Letters in crude spelling and crooked writing 
frequently come from the most successful squab raisers. The 
knack of caring for animals successfully cannot be acquired 
by some. Given two women, with cooking materials and the 
same cook books, one cooks splendidly, and the other mis- 
erably. Why? Well, it is the same with pigeons. Some 
can and some can't. However, the failures at squab or 
poultry raising seldom blame themselves. 

There are many of the naturally careless, improvident 
persons who have turned to squabs to help them out of finan- 
cial holes, and they have made a failure of squab raising. 
Many of us remember the furore over raising chicken broilers 
for market, which started a score of years ago. The fact that 



GETTING AHEAD 95 

some were making money at it started a burning hen fever in 
hundreds of young and old people anxious to make a lot of 
money quick. Clerks and society women from New York 
moved into the suburbs on small farms and began to try to 
make realities of their dreams. Not accustomed to manual 
labor, they made a sorry mess of it. Writers of that period 
tell of chicken gentlemen and ladies who went about their 
daily round of duties with their delicate hands carefully pro- 
tected by kid gloves. It did not take long for the end for such 
experimenters to arrive. They returned to the great city 
sadder, but wiser. The squab industry has suffered also the 
past five years from such treatment. Many have played 
with it as a child would with a new toy, giving up their 
pigeons in a few months at the slightest discouragement. 

The past ten years are strewn with the wrecks of imitation 
squab advertisers and their guarantees. Every spring, when 
demand for breeders is greatest, some of these come to life 
again, or new ones crop up, and they get what harvest they 
can, many of them selling what they can pick up in the way 
of culls, such as we ourselves sell to Faneuil Hall marketmen 
to be killed. These advertisers start advertising in January 
and by June they have quit. 

The following, from the pen of an old poultry writer, 
appeared in a farm periodical of large circulation in January, 
1907: " So far, every attempt made in this country to estab- 
lish a large poultry (chicken) farm has been met by failure. 
The extensive and successful plants of today are the outcome 
of a small beginning and a gradual growth. True, the main 
cause for failure has been the lack of experience; men have 
undertaken work for which they were not qualified." 

So it is the rule with squab and poultry failures, especially 
women, to blame everybody but themselves. Such persons 
learn bitterly that experience is indeed a factor. 

The place and flock of the one who fails with squabs tell 
their own story. The drinking fountains are seldom washed, 
the pen is seldom cleaned and the place has a run-down look 
generally, sometimes being positively filthy. The grain is 
bought and fed on the catch-as-catch-can principle with no 
provision for variety. The cheapest grain is bought, or it is 
ignorantly bought, and may be full of weevils, or sour. The 
owner of such a place generally matches the place. 



96 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Some advertisers selling breeding stock try to give the 
impression in their advertising that they control the matings 
and love affairs of the pigeons they sell, to the uttermost 
degree. " We are the ones who can start you right," they 
say, "with our guaranteed mated pairs." Their pigeons, how- 
ever, behave just the same as all pigeons. You have just as 
much control over the minds of your pigeons as anybody. 
We have the finest equipment for mating in America, as it is 
the largest, a thousand mating coops being in constant use. 
One of the buildings is heated by a hot-water plant so as to 
get quick results in mating in the winter. It is natural for 
pigeons to breed, same as all animals. Do not believe that 
the man who offers to sell you pigeons has it in. his power to 
control them after they have left his hands. The control of 
your pigeons is in your hands absolutely. If you raise an 
excess of cocks, or if you have an excess of either sex, for any 
reason, you should procure enough of the opposite sex to 
match up evenly. You should have some mating coops 
(ordinary boxes with wire fronts will do) and in them you 
should pair up birds to suit yourself as to color of plumage, or 
size, or special characteristics, as you raise them. 

We fill all orders, large or small, with equal care and 
thoroughness, for it is just as much to our interest to please 
the customer and get more orders in the one case as in the 
other. 

There is not much choice as to what time of year a start 
in squab breeding should be made. Our customers who 
start in the winter have been exceptionally successful because 
then prices for squabs are at the top notch, and it takes only 
a few sales to make a new breeder thoroughly convinced to 
go ahead to success. We ship breeders all the year round. 
A pigeon will not break down under either stifling heat or 
bitter cold, being different from other animals. 

We fill orders in rotation and treat customers alike, and 
ship promptly. Frequently we get orders to ship by first 
returning express, and it is very difficult to do this. One 
customer in Chicago planned to start for Alaska with twelve 
pairs of our birds, but he held back his letter so that we got 
it with only two hours to fill crates and get birds to him before 
his departure. We filled his order as a matter of accommoda- 
tion. 



GETTING AHEAD 97 

In ordering supplies to be sent by freight, remember that 
it takes a freight shipment some time to get to destination, 
especially when traffic is congested in the spring or in the 
harvest season. Give us your order for nest bowls and 
supplies before your house is ready. 

The live breeders are shipped by us either in specially made 
pine crates or wicker coops. The wicker coops remain our 
property and are returned to us at our expense by the express 
companies after the customer has released the pigeons. These 
baskets are expensive and are fitted with large tin feed and 
water dishes. It is impossible to break them open with the 
roughest handling. The birds have plenty of room in them 
and arrive at their destination in fine condition. 

The usual fault of inexperienced shippers is that the box 
or crate is too high, and too large, giving an opportunity for 
one bird to pass another by flying over its head. If there is 
too much room between the top and bottom of the crate 
feathers will be rumpled and pulled out, and the birds by 
crowding will suffocate one or two. A large, heavy crate 
also adds enormously to the express charges. It is not 
pleasant to buy pigeons and receive them in a cumbrous 
box weighing from twenty-five to seventy-five pounds, on 
which the express charges are more than double what they 
would be were the birds crated properly. 

If the birds are going to a point only a day or a day and a 
night distant, they need no feed nor water. For a long 
journey, a bag of grain should be tied to the crate. It is the 
duty of the express messengers to feed and water the birds en 
route, and they are so instructed by their companies. 

Do you know that pigeons are transported by the express 
companies at the rate charged for ordinary merchandise under 
the classification in force for 1907 on? The rate is found in 
every express book (ask your agent to show it to you if there 
is any dispute over charges) now as follows: " Pigeons, 
homing, merchandise rate." Tell the agent to look in the P's 
for Pigeons and he will find it there. 

For carrying most live-stock short distances, the animal 
rate (which is double the merchandise rate) is charged. This 
is a peculiar rule when it was formerly applied to pigeons, and 
it worked so that the buyer at a r mote point got his ship- 
ment cheaper than the buyer nearer us. For instance, we 




HOW WE SHIP PIGEONS. 

Care and skill exercised in shipping live pigeons are large factors in satisfying 
customers. It is not a pleasant experience to send money away for pigeons and 
have them reach you in a home-made box, generally of enormous weight, and bearing 
enormous express charges. 

We originated the above style of shipping and have two thousand shipping 
baskets in use. They are expensive but by their use we are able to guarantee safe 
arrival. The customer receives his shipment in faultless condition. 

The small bag of grain on top of the basket, tied to it, is for the use of the express- 
man in feeding the birds en route. The tin water dish is at the end of the basket, 
outside, where it ought to be, not inside. 

These shipping baskets remain our property and are returned to us empty at our 
expense after the customer has released his birds. 



GETTING AHEAD 99 

could ship a crate of pigeons to Chicago from Boston cheaper 
than we could to Buffalo. All the express companies doing 
business in the United States and Canada have the same rule, 
which is, that between points where the single or merchandise 
rate is two dollars or more per hundred pounds, live animals, 
boxed, crated or caged, are charged for transportation at the 
single or merchandise rate. Between points where the single 
or merchandise rate is less than two dollars per hundred 
pounds, live animals are charged the animal rate (which is 
double the merchandise rate). Poultry (not pigeons) are 
charged the one and one-half rate when the rate per one hun- 
dred pounds is less than two dollars. 

In order to obtain the lowest rate of transportation, the 
value of each pigeon must be stated by the shipper at five 
dollars or less. 

We have seen breeders who have been shipping live-stock 
for years and they never heard of the above rule of the 
express companies, and also we have seen scores of express 
agents who did not know of their own rule, but always charged 
the animal rate on animal shipments. But the rule is found 
in every graduated charge book of every express company 
and the experienced expressmen and experienced shippers 
know all about it. If the agent in your town is ignorant of 
the rule, ask him for his graduated charge book. Many 
express agents at local points seldom handle a pigeon ship- 
ment and do not know how to charge for it. 

A live animal contract release, to be signed both by shipper 
and express agent, is needed in all cases where the value of 
each pigeon is more than five dollars. If pigeons which we 
ship are killed in a smash-up, we can recover from the com- 
pany. We have no hesitation, therefore, in guaranteeing the 
safe delivery of our pigeons to customers. Our respon- 
sibility does not end when we have given them to the express- 
man. Our guarantee follows them as long as they are in the 
hands of the express company. We will put them into your 
hands safe and sound. 

Once in a while you will read of live-stock and breeding 
associations getting together and complaining about the 
" exorbitant rates " charged by the express companies. The 
trouble is not with the rates of the express companies, but lies 
wholly in the ignorance of the breeders who meet to complain. 



100 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK- 

They simply do not know how to ship and how to talk to the 
express agents. 

We never read the above advice as to shipping live-stock in 
any book or paper. It is the product of our own experience 
and the information cost us at least one hundred dollars in 
excess charges before we learned how to get the low rate. 
It is worth dollars to our customers. 

No express agent anywhere has a right to make any extra 
charges whatever on our pigeon shipments. 

There is no duty on our pigeons to Canada, Cuba or Porto 
Rico, when we send with the pigeons and also to the customer, 
as we do, a certificate of purity of breed, declaring that the 
pigeons are for breeding, and not to be killed for market. 

Squab breeders having special customers who wish the squabs 
plucked should pack them in a clean white wood box (with ice 
in the summer) and nail the box up tight. Such shipments go 
through in splendid condition and if the breeder has a choice 
article, with the Plymouth Rock trade mark stamped on the 
box, he gets the fancy price. Squabs which reach the Boston 
market from jobbers in Philadelphia and New York are plucked 
and packed with ice in barrels. Breeders around Boston who 
reach the Boston market with undressed squabs send them in 
boxes or wicker hampers or baskets on the morning of the day 
after they are killed. 

Since January 1, 1913, killed squabs have been mailable by 
parcel post in the zone where the shipment originates. One 
squab may be sent to a customer inside the zone for only a 
nickel. Squabs which are mailed by parcel post should be 
wrapped first in white waxed paper and then in stout brown 
paper or corrugated pasteboard. The parcel post is helping 
those squab breeders who wish to sell one or two or three pairs 
or more direct to consumers with a quick delivery. Live pig- 
eons cannot be mailed. 

Killed squabs go to market by express not at the express rate 
charged for ordinary merchandise, but at a specially low rate 
known as the " general special " rate. For full particulars 
how to get this great saving in express charges when shipping 
killed squabs, see page 401 of this book, where the whole matter 
is explained in thorough detail. Do not assume that your ex- 
press agent knows about this low rate. Some of them do but 
most do not and it is money in your pocket to tell them. 



CHAPTER XII. 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 

Women and Squab Breeding — Attentions of the Male to the 
Female Pigeon — Equal Number of Males and Females 
— Birds Flying Wild — Sale of Birds for Flyers — 
Variation in Size of Nest Boxes — How Squabs are 
Artificially Fattened — Shipping to England — ■ Training 
Flyers — - A Remarkable Service for Messages between 
Islands. 

Question. I am a woman who knows absolutely nothing 
of squab raising. Do you think I can make a success of it? 
Answer. Our books are written and printed for the purpose 
of telling an absolutely ignorant person just how to proceed. 
If you will study this Manual, until you get the general plan 
and method of procedure in your mind, there is no reason 
why you cannot make a success of it. A woman is quick 
enough to puzzle out a new pattern of embroidery or a blind 
cooking recipe the terms of which are expressed in language 
utterly incomprehensible to a man. We find that our women 
customers are just as quick to comprehend pigeons -as soon as 
they get started. It is necessary to have confidence, first, 
that the birds can make money, and second, that you are able 
to handle them right. Women succeed with hens quite as 
well as men. They " take " to animals fully as well as men. 
The fact that you, our customer, are a woman, ought to 
encourage rather than depress you, in the squab business. 

Question. I have an old poultry house fifteen by twenty 
feet in size, ten feet high. How many pairs of pigeons can I 
accommodate? Answer. We have this question asked us 
many times, and our reply to all is the same. Sometimes the 
customer varies it by asking, How large a house do I need to 
accommodate one hundred pairs of breeders? Sometimes 
they say they propose remodeling a barn loft which is thirty 
by twenty feet in size. The dimensions of the building vary 
with the customer. You can always accommodate in theory 
as many pairs of breeders as vou can make room for pairs of 
nest boxes. Fix up your building to suit yourself and put in 

101 



102 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

as many nest boxes as you wish. Then count your nest 
boxes and you will know how many birds you can accommo- 
date. You must have two nest boxes for every pair of birds. 
Always allow more nest boxes than there are pigeons, and do 
not crowd the birds, as we have explained on page 29. 

Question. How does the male bird impregnate the female 
bird? They do not seem to me to act as roosters and hens do. 
Answer. The human eye is not sharp and quick enough to 
follow the actions of the male bird. He mounts the female 
in a manner which is called " treading." A female occasion- 
ally will " tread " the male bird, exactly as a female animal 
when in excessive heat sometimes will mount the male, or 
another fema -j. Customers who had what they thought was 
a doubtful p tir sometimes have written us saying that each 
would tread the other, and that of "course both were males. 
After a while the same customer would write and say that the 
pair fooled him and that he had two eggs from them. The 
actions are in nine cases out of ten, of course, a positive guide, 
but there are exceptions to every rule. 

Question. (1) The legs of the pigeon you sent me are 
red; are they inflamed? (2) The droppings are soft and 
mushy; I am afraid they have diarrhoea. What shall I do? 
(3) Most of my pigeons have a warty-like substance on their 
bills, varying in size with the pigeon; how shall I get rid of it? 
Answer. (1) The red color which you see is perfectly natural. 
The legs of all Homer pigeons are red. (2) The natural 
droppings of the pigeon are soft and somewhat loose. When 
they have diarrhoea the droppings are extremely watery and 
the tail feathers are soiled. Your pigeons are all right and 
have no diarrhoea. (3) The growth of which you speak is 
perfectly natural. It varies in size with the pigeon, sometimes 
covering the base of the bill, in other cases clinging closely to it. 

Question. Can I figure with certainty that of each pair 
of squabs which my birds hatch, one is a male and the other 
a female? Answer. Not with absolute certainty, but as a 
rule. It is Nature's way to provide for an equal number of 
males and females, for that is the way the species mates and 
is reproduced. 

Question. Enclosed find ten dollars, for which please send 
me~settings of pigeon eggs to that value, and send me the 
balance due, if any. Answer. We do not sell pigeon eggs. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 103 

It is impossible to use an incubator and raise pigeons success- 
fully, because there is no way of feeding the young squabs 
when they are hatched. The life of squabs is nourished and 
prolonged from day to day by the parent birds, which feed 
them. To raise squabs, you must start by buying the adult 
breeders. You cannot start with the eggs. 

Question. It seems to me that if each pair of squabs 
hatched consists of male and female, that this couple is likely 
to pair when grown, being well acquainted with each other. 
This would be inbreeding and would weaken my flock. What 
shall I do? Answer. It is not the plan of the species to mate 
and inbreed like this. If brother and sister mated as you 
describe, the species would be extinct after a while. They 
will look for new mates as soon as they get out of the nest and 
are of breeding age. 

Question. When are the young pigeons old enough to 
mate? Answer. At from four to six months. 

Question. My birds do. not know enough to go in from the 
roof of the squab house when it rains. How shall I get them 
in? Answer. Let them stay on the roof in the rain if they 
wish. The rain will do them no harm. 

Question. Must I heat the squab house in the winter time? 
Answer. No. The heat from a flock of pigeons in a well- 
built house is considerable. You will get more squabs from 
your pigeons in the winter time if you do heat your house 
slightly, not enough to cause much expense, but just enough 
to take the chill off. Do not let your birds out of the squab 
house on bitter cold days. 

Question. I live in Texas and I think in this climate your 
squab house would be too warm and stuffy. Answer. You 
are right. Adapt the construction to your locality. The 
poultry houses in Texas as compared to those in the North 
are much less expensive and more open to the air, and your 
squab house should be built on the same principle. 

Question. Suppose I cool the squabs as you direct and 
pack them into a box for shipment, shall I use ice? Is there 
any danger that the meat will be discolored when they arrive 
at market? Answer. Ice is not necessary in the fall, winter 
and spring. In the summer time you should use ice, although 
if the shipment is for a short distance, ice may not be necessary. 
In hot weather the squabs should not be killed until the night 



104 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

before shipping. In the cool months you may keep them 
at home longer. If the squabs are cooled by hanging them 
from studding as we describe, there is no danger that the 
meat will be discolored. The object of hanging them from 
studding is to cool the carcasses properly so that the meat 
will not be discolored by contact. 

Question. How shall I pack the killed squabs when I send 
them to market? Answer. Lay them in the box layer on 
layer, in an orderly fashion. Do not throw them in helter 
skelter. 

Question. Can I hang the squabs to cool from studding 
suspended in the barn, in the summer time? Answer. It is 
better to use the cellar of the house, or the coolest room in the 
house. 

Question. I do not like your idea of keeping the birds 
wired in. They are free by nature and it strikes me that they 
should have a chance to get exercise by long flights. Answer. 
You must keep them wired in, or they may leave you. Re- 
member that the Homer is attached to the place where it is 
bred, that is the Homer instinct. If you buy birds of us and 
on opening the crate let them fly anywhere they choose, 
trusting to luck to have them come back to you, you may be 
disappointed and lose some of the birds. You must keep 
them wired in all the time. 

Question. You say your Homers are fine flyers. What is 
the use of my buying them of you to fly in races or to sell 
again as flyers, if they may desert me when I let them out 
into the open air? Answer. The squabs which you breed 
from our birds will know no home but yours, and they will 
not fly away from you. You can send them away, when they 
are old enough, and time their flight back to your house, 
their home. When you sell these trained flyers to others, 
you do not expect that they will try to fly them, but that they 
will use them for, breeders. 

Question. How large are the mating coops? Answer. 
A convenient size is two feet long, two feet wide and two feet 
hi^h. 

Question. My birds seem timid and I am afraid to catch 
them. How shall I go about it? Answer. Do not be afraid 
of hurting them. Take a broom and drive one where you 
will, finally pinning it against the side of the squab house, or 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 105 

in a corner. Grasp it and hold its wings firmly and it will not 
struggle. Or you may make a net on the end of a pole, like 
an ordinary fish landing net, and scoop the bird into it as it 
flies through the air. 

Question. Suppose I have several squab houses, as you 
describe, but let all the birds together in one large flying pen, 
where they can bathe from one large fountain. Answer. 
This is all right if you do not wish to keep close track of your 
birds. If the birds can roam from one house to another, 
there is nothing to prevent a pair from building one nest on 
one house and then going to another house to build the second 
nest. 

Question. How many squabs shall I pack in one box when 
sending to market? Answer. Having picked out the size 
of the box you wish, fill it up close with squabs, so they will 
not " shuck." As to the size of the box, make it as big or 
little as you please, but do not make it any bigger than one 
expressman can handle easily. A good size is two feet square 
and one foot deep. 

Question. Send me two males and ten females. Answer. 
You must buy your birds in pairs. They pair off in this way, 
namely, one male to one female. One male does not have 
two or three females. We have heard pigeon breeders talk 
of having one cock which would attend two hens, but never 
had a case in our experience. 

Question. After plucking the squab, and before sending 
it to market, do you remove the entrails? Answer. No. 

Question. In order to avoid the trouble of using the mat- 
ing coop, may I put an equal number of cocks and hens in 
the same pen? Answer. Yes. 

Question. Can I discover the male and female organs by 
examination of the birds with a magnifying glass? Answer. 
No. You can discover them by dissecting the dead bird. 

Question. Suppose I wish to put a strip of wood across the 
front of the nest box? Answer. See page 30 and follow the 
directions there given. There are differences of opinion with 
regard to nest boxes and each has its advocates. If you use 
either design shown on page 30, you will be safe, for both are 
in successful use. If in doubt, fit up some boxes in one style 
and some in the other and see how they work. The pigeon will 
fly directly into the nest, or onto the nest box in front of the nest. 



106 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Question. Seems to me that if I start with forty-eight 
pairs of birds, I ought to have ninety-six perches. Answer. 
The birds do not all perch at the same time. While some 
are perching, others are on the nests, or walking on the floor, 
or are outside in the flying pen, or on the roof. Put up a few 
perches where you have room and let it go at that. 

Question. I live in England; can you ship me twenty-four 
pairs of your breeders? Answer. Yes; the transportation 
charges will be four dollars. In addition you will have to pay 
the butcher or steward of the boat ten shillings for feeding 
and watering the birds. Send us six dollars and fifty cents 
in addition to the regular price of the birds and we will ship 
to you all charges prepaid. In shipping to Cuba and remote 
points in the United States and Canada, we do not have to 
pay anything extra for the feeding and watering of the birds; 
the express charges include the feeding and watering. 

Question. What is a Runt pigeon? Please quote prices 
on a dozen pairs of Runts. Answer. A Runt pigeon is a 
special breed of pigeon, remarkable for its large size. They 
come all colors, as a Homer does. The white Runts are an 
exceptionally beautiful bird and command large prices, as 
high as six dollars to fifteen dollars a pair. The squabs which 
Runts breed weigh from eighteen ounces to one and one-half 
pounds at four weeks. If Runts bred as fast as Homers, they 
would be just the bird for squab breeders, but they are 
fatally slow in breeding, as a rule. The Homers raise two 
pairs of squabs to the Runts' one. Therefore it is of course 
more profitable to raise Homers. We do not sell Runts and 
do not advocate their use either as a separate breed, or 
crossed up with" Homers. The large, plump, thoroughbred 
Homer is the best. 

Question. What is the difference between the Homer and 
Antwerp breeds of pigeons? Answer. No difference. The 
name is used interchangeably to apply to the same breed of 
pigeon. In New England we speak of them mostly as 
Homers. In some places they are called more often Antwerps. 

Question. Can I feed some of my squabs by hand if nec- 
essary? Answer. Yes. Mix up a mushy, soft handful of 
grain, hold the squab in the left hand, close to your body, and 
with the thumb and first finger of your right hand force the 



QUESTIONS AND AASWERS 107 

mixture into the bill. The squab will swallow and fill its 
crop. A backward squab may be forced in this manner. 

Question. Can you sell me twelve pairs of young Homers, 
about eight weeks old? Answer. No. It is impossible to 
tell the sex of pigeons of that age. Any breeder who under- 
takes to furnish squabs several weeks old in equal males and 
females cannot do so and is imposing on you. 

Question. Please give recipes for cooking squabs. An- 
swer. See the cook books. Squabs are generally served 
broiled. They should be drawn, singed and washed. Cut 
off the heads, split into two parts, season, put on a lump of 
butter and broil over a hot fire. Place close to the fire at 
first so as to brown the outside and retain the juices, then 
hold further away from the fire to complete the cooking. If 
roasted, leave them in a hot oven for thirty minutes. For 
roasting, squabs may be stuffed with cranberries or currants. 
Baste every ten minutes with spoonfuls of hot water and 
butter. 

Question. How shall I train the young birds raised from 
your Homers to fly? Answer. There is a large business in 
flying Homers and if you have a pen or two of trained birds 
you can sell them at fancy prices. There are homing clubs 
all over the country which have contests and it is worth while 
for a breeder to work for a reputation of breeding and selling 
fast flyers. The young Homers when five months old are 
strong enough to be trained to fly. Take them in a basket 
(having omitted to feed them) a mile or two away, and 
liberate them one by one. They will circle in the air, then 
choose the correct course. You should have left grain for 
them as a reward for their safe arrival home, and an induce- 
ment for their next experience in flying. Two or three days 
later take or send them away five miles and repeat. Next 
try ten miles, and so work on by easy stages up to seventy- 
five or one hundred miles. If you have a friend in another 
city, you may send your birds in a basket to him with instruc- 
tions to liberate certain ones at certain hours, or you may 
send the basket by train to any express agent, along with a 
letter telling him to liberate the birds at a certain hour and 
send the basket back to you. If you wish to have the birds 
carry a message, write it on a piece of cigarette paper (or any 
strong tissue), wrap the paper around the leg of the bird and 




SELF-FEEDER FOR GRAIN 



SELF-F EEDING 
GRAIN TROUGH. It 
£ quite difficult to de- 
Wse a grain trough 
from which the pigeons 
cannot throw grain 
out, as they poke 
around in search of 
tid-bits. The trough 
illustrated at the top of 
this page is a good one. 
The grain falls down in 
each compartment as 
fast as it is eaten. The 
pigeons when eating 
stand in the front part 
of the trough and if 
they pull out any grain, 
this is not scattered on 
the floor of the squab- 
house but on the board 
front, from which it 
may be swept up as 
necessary. This pat- 
tern of trough was de- 
signed by Dr. F. D. 
Clum. One sketch 
shows the box without cover and the other with cover in its proper place, protecting 
the entire box and contents from droppings of the birds. The dimensions do not mat- 
ter. A good size would be about four feet long and two feet wide. This would allow 
for feed compartments about five inches wide, nine in number. 

The trough for grain illustrated at the bottom of this page is for use when feeding by 
hand twice a day. It was devised by Charles W. Brown. It is simple and open, still 

the birds cannot foul 
the grain in it. The 
size shown in the pic- 
ture is four inches wide 
and two inches deep 
inside, thirty-six inches 
long outside. Twenty 
birds can feed at once 
at this size. The ends 
are four inches high 
inside to centre of 
pivot. These pivots 
are the feature of the 
trough and give it its 
novelty. The birds 
cannot get into the box 
and foul the feed be- 
cause the bar is in the 
way. As the bar is 
pivoted and turns 
when they alight on it, 
they cannot roost on 
it. The pivoted wood 
bar is of one-inch 
square stock. The box 
also is of one-inch 
stock, so as to be heavy 
and strong. The box 
is deep enough to pre- 
vent birds from throw- 
ing out the grain when 
enough for twenty 
birds for one meal is in it. There is space between the edge of box and the bar ample 
for the birds to feed, but not enough space for them to get into the feeder. The fact 
that the bar is pivoted does not prevent the birds from alighting on it but, being pivoted, 
the bar turns as soon as they alight on it and off they go. They soon learn to keep off 
it. The illustrations and descriptions of both these troughs are taken by permission 
from the National Squab Magazine. 

108 




OPEN TROUGH WITH REVOLVING BAR 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 109 

tie with thread, or fasten with glue or a stamp ; or, you may 
tie the tissue around one of the tail feathers. A thin alu- 
minum tube containing the message may be fastened to a 
leg, or to a tail feather. A trap window should be constructed 
to time the arrival home of birds. This is an aperture about 
six inches square closed by wires hanging from a piece of wood 
at the top of the aperture and swinging inward, but held close 
to the aperture by its own weight. The pigeon cannot fly 
out but on its return home (if you have sprinkled grain on the 
inside of the house, next the wires) the bird will push the wire 
door and go in. It takes only a day or two for the pigeon to 
become accustomed to the trap. If you connect the trap 
with a simple make-and-break electric circuit, the pigeon on 
its arrival home from its flight will ring a bell in any part of 
your house or barn. When you have a record of the flyers, 
you will have a guide for mating. The majority of fanciers 
recommend a medium-sized Homer. A large hen should be 
mated to a small cock, or a large cock to a small hen. What 
is perhaps the best pigeon service in the world has been in use 
for several years between Newton Roads, Auckland, New 
Zealand, and the Great Barrier and Maro Tiro Islands, some 
seventy-five miles distant. A boy of sixteen years worked 
up the service and makes a large income from it. About 
twenty messages an hour are carried back and forth by the 
Homers. A year ago the government declared its intention 
of laying a cable from Auckland to Great B°rrier. The 
project was abandoned, however, as the residents of the little 
island decided that they were well pleased with the pigeons, 
and that a cable would not be patronized. The government 
offered to buy the whole pigeon outfit from the boy owner, 
but he refused. There are from four hundred to five hundred 
pairs of pigeons in the service. 

Question. In the case of young birds mated up for the 
first time at five or six months of age, is it best to destroy the 
first eggs, or let them go ahead and hatch in the regular way? 
Answer. Let them go ahead and hatch and learn to feed their 
young. It will improve them for the next hatch. 

Question. Please describe the self-feeder more fully and 
explain its operation. Answer. The hopper of the feeder 
is V-shaped so that the grain will fall by its own weight to the 
centre at the bottom, which is cut away as shown in the 



110 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

illustration so that as the birds peck up the grain, more falls 
from the hopper. The slit where the birds eat should be 
about an inch and a half in width, just enough to prevent the 
grain from running out faster than it is eaten. If the grain is 
pulled out on the floor, tack a strip of wood, like a lath, so as 
partly to block the holes. 

Question. Should I cover the yard of the flying pen with 
your grit? Answer. No. Provide a box and keep our grit in 
the box. When the pigeons want grit, they will go to the 
box and get it. 

Question. Are the carrier (flying) pigeons the same breed 
as your Homers? Answer. Yes. A flying or carrier Homer 
is a Homer that has been trained to fly a long distance. 

Question. What are artificially fattened squabs? An- 
swer. An artificially fattened squab is a squab which has 
been stuffed by hand. Take a syringe and fill it with fattening 
mixture of gruel-like consistency, open the mouth of the squab 
and force the contents of the syringe into the crop of the squab. 
Very few breeders take this trouble to bring their squabs to an 
extraordinary size. 

Question. I wish you had shipped my breeders in one 
large crate, then the express charges would not have been so 
much as for the two crates which you used. Answer. You 
are mistaken. An express shipment goes by weight and not 
by number of packages. The express clerks put all the crates 
going to one customer on the scales together and weigh them 
all at once and on the total weight the charge is based. They 
prefer to 'handle a large shipment in small packages, rather 
than in one large package. 

Question. Can I use the upper part of my henhouse for 
pigeons, and if so will the pigeons interfere in the flying pen 
with the hens? Answer. You may use the upper part of 
your henhouse and the pigeons will not be harmed by the 
hens, nor the hens by the pigeons. It is best to build the 
flying pen in two stories so that the pigeons cannot fly into 
the henhouse to try to nest. 

Question. To save room, I would like to build my pigeon 
house in two stories. Answer. That is all right. Build the 
top flying pen out over and extending beyond the bottom 
flying pen if you wish to separate the flocks on the ground 
floor from the flocks upstairs. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 111 

Question. What are the bands for pigeons' legs and how- 
are they applied? Answer. The seamless band is a ring of 
aluminum three-eighths of an inch in diameter and from 
three-sixteenths to one-quarter of an inch in width. You 
cannot apply it to an old pigeon. It is put on either leg of a 
squab when the squab is four or five days old, by squeezing 
the toes of the squab through the band. As the leg of the 
squab grows, it becomes impossible to remove the band 
except by cutting it off On the band, before putting it on 
the leg of the squab, you may stamp year of birth and your 
initials, or anything you choose. We sell an outfit consisting 
of aluminum tubing, dies, etc., by which the squab breeder 
may make his own bands at a cost of two or three for a cent. 

Question. Since I bought twelve pairs of you, I have kept 
a careful account of the feed, and find as you state that five 
cents a month for a pair of breeders is right. Grain has been 
much higher than usual this summer and it strikes me that 
under normal conditions of the grain market the cost of a 
pair of squab breeders would be less than five cents a month, 
or sixty cents a year. Answer. Our figures of cost were 
ascertained not by " skimping " the birds, but feeding them 
liberally, and an estimate of five cents a month for a pair is 
based on a low cost of grain, and on selling the manure. 

Question. What pattern of trowel do you recommend for 
cleaning the nest bowls and nest boxes? Answer. The 
common trowel such as bricklayers use is too pointed. The 
best pattern has a square point and a stout blade with strong 
handle. With such a trowel you can clean out the nest 
bowls and nest boxes very effectively. 

Question. Can pigeons be raised on the sea-coast as well 
as inland? Answer. Yes; the Homer pigeon is descended 
from a variety of pigeon which first bred among the cliffs 
bordering the sea-shore. 

Question. Do the squabs fly out of the nest before they are 
four weeks old? Answer. No; they look old enough to fly 
at four weeks, and their wings seem all ready for use, but they 
stay in the nest and are fed by the parent birds, and when you 
wish to kill them you find both in the nest ready for you. 

Question. Your book states that pigeons sometimes lay 
their eggs on the floor. But it does not say anything about 
taking the eggs and putting them in a nest bowl. Would the 



112 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

birds follow their eggs and accept change of nest from floor tc 
nest bowl ? Answer . No ; you must leave the eggs where 
they lay them. You can handle a nest and change eggs from 
one nest bowl to another, if you wish, but you cannot move 
eggs from one place in the squab house to another and expect 
the birds to find them and go on with their laying. 

Question. Do all squab breeders heat their houses in the 
winter time; I mean those who do a large business like your- 
self. Answer. No; some breeders of many years' experience 
believe that a warm house is detrimental to the health of the 
birds, on account of the sudden change of temperature from 
a warm house to a cold flying pen. The object should be 
merely to take the damp winter chill off the air. If you have 
a warm, tight squab house which you will close when night 
comes, you will need no heat. 

Question. In the case of a long house, say four units long, 
should there be wire netting partitions between the units, so 
as to separate the birds into four flocks? Answer. Such an 
arrangement is more practical than one long house. It is 
better to keep track of four small flocks than one large flock. 
You can keep account of the birds both on paper, and with 
your eyes, with more precision. 

Question. How is salt cat made? Answer. Take sixteen 
quarts of sand, eight quarts of slaked lime, four quarts of 
ground oyster shells, one pint of salt, one pint of caraway 
seeds and mix with water into a stiff mud. Form into bricks 
and set away to dry. The water with which you mix should 
have a tablespoonful of sulphate of iron and a tablespoonful 
of sulphuric acid for tonic and disinfectant. The birds peck 
at this mixture and it is believed to have a tonic and strength- 
ening effect on them. 

Question. Shall I crowd one of the units with nest boxes, 
or would it be better to have a smaller number of nest boxes 
and build another unit to accommodate the new birds which 
I am going to buy? Answer. Better enlarge your squab 
house. In case of doubt, you will be on the safer side if you 
do not crowd the birds. 

(See following pages for points which may occur to you and 
«fhich are not covered in these questions and answers.) 



SUPPLEMENT 

NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 
By Elmer C. Rice 

Don't wait until your squabhouse is built before you order your supplies and 
pigeons. Supplies going by freight should be ordered from, two weeks to a month 
ahead of the time you want to use them. Pigeons go by express much faster, 
as fast as passenger trains, but we want your order from a week to three weeks 
ahead of the time you want the pigeons shipped. Give us all the time you can 
on pigeon shipments. Get your orders in early. Order ahead. Supply orders 
going both by freight and express are shipped the same day we get them unless 
the customer specifies something different. Remember that freight trains which 
carry supplies such as grit, grain and large lots of nest bowls are slower than the 
express trains on which the pigeons are shipped. 

We are always glad to give advice on pigeon topics without charge but cor- 
respondents always should enclose a stamped and addressed envelope for our 
reply. Letters should be as brief as possible. If you ask questions which we 
are to answer, number them and keep a copy of your letter so that we may 
reply by number without repeating your question. 

Our Manual, the National Standard Squab Book, is the best-selling work on 
breeding or farm-life ever published in any country, and has been carried in 
the mails to every part of the civilized world. 

Our business is too much a matter of pride with us, too large, and too suc- 
cessful, to permit of a single patron being dissatisfied. We have spent over 
$200,000 to put our trade on a firm and successful footing and we cannot afford 
to run the risk of displeasing a customer. If resources, skill and experience 
count for anything, and we think they do, we intend to keep on furnishing the 
best pigeons possible, and patrons can rest assured that they are getting for 
their money the greatest possible value. Moreover, we have one price to all; 
the customer in California can buy of us as cheaply as our next-door neighbors. 
Our farm is always open to inspection and customers may make their t)wn selec- 
tion of breeding stock, if they desire. 

Our general advertising in the high-class magazines and other periodicals 
not only induces the breeding of squabs but also leads people to eat squabs. 
For every one who sees our advertising and writes for particulars and starts 
breeding, there are a score of men and women who inquire of their butchers 
or marketmen for squabs in order to eat them. Squab dealers in every section 
of the United States and Canada are reporting an increased demand with which 
the supply cannot begin to keep pace. 

We take some pride in the squab industry. We were the pioneers in it 
and we put it on a commercial basis. We have fostered it on correct lines 
and according to sound business principles, and the growth has not been a 

113 



114 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

" boom," as some other things in the past have been boomed, but has been 
steady and sure and successful. We paint no extravagant picture as to the 
profits of squab raising, and we show proofs every step of the way — stories 
of success of our customers who started green and are making money. 

That there are occasional failures is to be expected. "We give no recipe 
and sell no machinery for transforming an incompetent person who fails at 
many tasks into a success. But the history of this industry and of our 
business demonstrates with a power that cannot be denied that squab 
raising is right. 

No business climbs up the hill of profit steadily for any length of time 
unless it is absolutely fair, advertised by true statements, and giving a true 
money's worth. When we began to tell the country about squabs, people 
would come to our office and say, "Well, it reads pretty good, but is it true?" 
We did not have much evidence ready then, but we have now. Our answer 
is the present condition of the squab industry, forging ahead with giant 
strides to its place alongside of eggs and poultry, millions of dollars in value, 
and the unsolicited letters from our customers which we print, showing the 
most remarkable and convincing progress of this breeding. _ 

We have already printed a great many of these letters in years past, and 
we print more in this Supplement. We have room here to show only a 
small part of such testimony. For every letter printed here we have scores 
just as convincing. These communications have come to us unsolicited, 
day by day, as the business brought them, and more are coming every day, 
and they are our answer to doubters. They are the proof that what we say 
aDout the business and what we teach in the Manual, is true, and is being 
worked out successfully. We do not print the names and addresses of the 
writers of these letters because many of them are regular buyers of our 
birds, and moreover, we cannot advertise other breeders free of charge. 
These letters and the testimony they give are valueless if they are not 
genuine. Each and every one is genuine, and moreover, we guarantee 
their genuineness, and will produce the originals at any time to satisfy 
anybody. In these days when many "testimonials" are unblushingly 
"worked up" without a shadow of foundation, there are skeptics, and to 
such who cannot come to Boston and see us, we recommend that they send 
one of the commercial agency men to make the inquiry and handle the 
evidence. We have never yet had the genuineness of our letters from 
customers questioned, for they "ring true" and are in the simple language 
of facts which cannot be counterfeited, but we are ready at any time for 
any doubter. 

What others have done and are doing with our birds, you can do. 



KILLING MACHINE. To kill squabs with clearly. The neck of the squab is placed 

extreme rapidity we have made a machine between the movable arm (or lever) and the 

with which the operator can work with much lower arm, and the lever is brought down 

ease and satisfaction. The method of tweak- upon the neck, breaking the bones, crushing 

ing the necks which we describe and illustrate the spinal cord and killing the squab instantly, 

in the Manual is slow when compared with The operation produces no blood, nor does 

the work of this machine, and is repugnant it break the flesh. The two edges of the 

to many, especially women. upper and lower arms, where they come to- 

The illustration shows the construction gether against the neck of the squab, should 



SUPPLEMENT 



115 



not be sharp so as to cut the flesh, but should 
be rounding, and slightly flat at the points 
of contact. 

The base-board is made of three-quarters 
or one-inch lumber, twenty inches long and 
seven inches wide. The upper arm (or lever) 
is of half-inch stock, one and three-quarters 




inches wide and fifteen inches long. The 
lower arm is of half -inch stock one and three- 
quarters inches wide and eight and one-half 
inches long. The two upright pieces in 
front, nearest the hand of the operator, are 
each of seven-eighths or inch stock, one and 
three-quarters inches wide and three and 
three-quarters inches high. The two upright 
pieces in back, furthest from the hand of 
the operator, are each of seven-eighths or 
inch stock, two and one-half inches wide 
and three and three-quarters inches high. 

The pin at the back of the machine on 
which the lever turns is of one-quarter inch 
brass or iron rod two and one-quarter inches 
iong. 

The upper arm (or lever) is bevelled or 
cut off at an angle on lower corner (behind 
the uprights, and consequently invisible 
In the picture) so that the lever can be raised 
to an angle of forty-five degrees, thus per- 
mitting the neck of the squab to be inserted 
between the arms at a point just back of 
the farther uprights. When the upper lever 
is at rest upon the lower arm, there should 
be no space between the two; they should 
butt flush together. 

The whole machine is built of wood with 
the exception of the metal pivot and the 
screws which hold the pa*"ts together. It 
is not necessary to mortise the uprights 
into the base -board. The screws which 
fasten the uprights are started underneath 
from the back side of the base-board and 
go through the base-board. Nails may be 
used instead of screws to hold the parts 
together, but the job will not be so strong. 
The base-board should be nailed or screwed 
to a bench or table so as to give firmness 
and solidity in operation. _ Carry the squabs 
in a basket to the machine and kill them 
there; do not take the machine into the pens 
and kill the squabs in sight of the other 
birds. 

We do not sell this squab killer. It should 
be built by you or your carpenter. 

Customers with large plants have told us 
that this tool is a handy article, and we 



havp found it indispensable. The squabs 
can be killed as fast as you can work the 
lever. The pressure is considerable and 
the cords are crushed at once. The squab 
is not strangled but is paralyzed, and made 
lifeless at once. 

For those who do not care to build a wood 
squab-killing machine as described above, 
we sell pincers, to accomplish the same 
purpose in the same way; see our catalogue. 
These pincers should be oiled at the joint, 
and the joint worked so that they will open 
and close freely. When first purchased 
the joint is tight, and works hard. 

For dealers who wish squabs bled, use the 
knife which we describe in our catalogue. 

WEANING THE YOUNG BIRDS. If you 

are starting with a small flock with the 
expectation of raising your own breeders, 
do not take the young birds away from 
their parents out of the breeding pen until 
they are weaned. They are not thoroughly 
weaned until they are six or seven weeks old. 
It is true that many of them hop or fly or 
are pushed out of the nests when they are 
from four to five weeks old, but they con- 
tinue to cry for food when they are 
hungry, and the old cock bird of the pair 
which hatched them will be seen feeding 
them on the floor. The youngsters at this 
time are feeding themselves, but to keep 
them strong and rugged they need the crumbs 
of parental food which they get as described, 
and for which they cry, or squeak. These 
crumbs have been moistened by the parent 
bird and consequently digest quicker and 
better. 

When the youngsters are weaned, take 
them out of the breeding pen and put them 
in the rearing pen. (The rearing pen is 
fitted with nest-boxes, etc., exactly the same 
as a breeding pen.) You can tell by their 
looks when they are old enough to remove, 
even if you have not kept track of their age. 
The substance (called the cere) at the base 
of the bill of an old pigeon which is white 
will be a dark brown on a squab or young 
bird. A squab in the nest is so fat as often 
to be bigger than either of his parents, but 
after he has got out of the nest and hustled 
around on the floor he trains off that fat and 
becomes thin and rangy and can generally 
be told from an old bird, if in no other way, 
because he is smaller. 

A poor beginner will sometimes be heard 
to say: "Many of my young birds are 
dying." When he says that, you may be 
sure that the trouble, every time, is with 
him, and not with his birds, provided, of 
course, his parent stock is rugged and hand- 
some. It mav be deduced, without asking any 
further questions, that he is taking his young 
birds away from the breeding pen before 
they have the strength to support themselves. 
The precarious period of all animal life is 
the weaning age. Some beginners who have 
had no difficulty in raising squabs to market 



116 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



age have had losses because they supposed 
that a full-fledged youngster was able to 
take care of itself, but we never knew a 
case of this which we could not straighten 
out simply by recommending the breeder 
to keep his young birds longer in the breeding l 
pen. 

NEED OF HEALTH GRIT. It has been 

our experience in dealing not only with 
many thousands of beginners in the squab 
business, but also with a great many breeders 
of considerable experience, that comparatively 
few have a proper appreciation of the value 
of grit. Pigeons have no teeth and must 
have grit to take the place of teeth, otherwise 
they cannot prepare their food for their 
stomachs properly, and will not do well. 
We have had customers take the most 
extraordinary care with regard to the grain, 
but supply absolutely no grit, and then they 
complained because their birds were not 
breeding properly, and that the squabs 
were not plump. 

Grit is not oyster shell, nor is oyster shell 
grit. You must have both. The grit is 
needed, as stated, to grind the grain, while 
fe'ae oyster shell is needed to supply the 
constituents out of which the female pigeon 
forms the egg. 

The yard of the flying pen must be gravelled 
not grassed, and out of this gravel the birds 
get considerable grit. If you watch them, 
you will see them pecking at this gravel in 
the flying pen constantly. Beach sand, or 
sand of any kind, may be used in the flying 
pen instead of gravel. The flying-pen yard 
should be renewed with fresh sand or gravel 
every six weeks, for although it may look 
the same to you, you must remember that it 
does not look the same to the birds, for they 
have been going over it constantly picking 
out the particles which they liked. In the 
winter time .when the flying pen may be 
covered with snow, it is well to keep a pro- 
tected box filled with gravel or sand in the 
squab-house. By a protected box, we mean 
a box which the birds cannot foul, but which 
allows the grit to fall down as fast as eaten. 

In a protected box in the squab-house 
there should also be fed the Health Grit 
which we sell. We have used all kinds of 
grits, and the grit we are now using and 
selling to the exclusion of everything else, 
is the only grit which pigeons will eat greedily 
(thus showing that it is good for them). 
It contains salt, and no salt need be provided 
in' lump form if this grit is supplied. The 
grits commonly manufactured and sold for 
poultry, made out of granite, etc., are useless 
for pigeons, and it is a waste of money to 
buy them, for common gravel _ or sand would 
be fully as good, and cost nothing. 

A flock of pigeons under any conditions 
and in any part of the country will do better 
when our Health Grit is fed. The squabs 
will be ready for market a few days earlier, they 
will be plumper, and both they and the old 



birds will be in rugged health, and will keep 
so. We keep this grit before our own pigeons 
constantly, and consume and sell more tons 
of it every year than of any grit in the 
market. It is used by practically every 
large squab breeder of our acquaintance. 
We recommend it in the highest terms, 
knowing in our own experience that it pays 
for itself many times over. 

We charge two dollars per •200 pounds 
for this grit. We do not sell less than 200 
pounds. We ship it in bags and it goes at a 
low freight rate. A hundred-pound bag will 
last a small flock for months. It is as good 
for hens as for pigeons. This grit should be 
kept in and fed from a wood box. Do not 
put it in a tin or galvanized iron box. 



OYSTER SHELL. A great deal of oyster 
shell on the market is unfit for pigeons, not 
being ground fine enough. It is quite 
difficult in some sections of the West and 
South to get oyster shell, which has to be 
transported from the seaboard. The oyster 
shell which we supply our trade is put up 
in one-hundred-pound bags. Price 75 cents 
per 100 pounds. No order filled for less 
than fifty pounds; price of fifty pounds, 
forty cents. It is ground fine and is just 
right for pigeons. It should be fed to the 
birds from a protected box in the squab- 
house. 

INSECT SPRAYER. Pigeons have a 
long feather louse which is not harmful. 
The mite which causes the only trouble is 
small, about the size of a pin-head, called 
the red mite, because after it has sucked 
the blood of the pigeon it is colored red. 
We have gone a whole season without seeing 
any of these mites in our breeding houses. 
If lice of this kind, or any kind, are discovered, 
the insect sprayer which we illustrate here 
will be found useful. The barrel is filled 
with kerosene (or water in which squab-fe-nol 
has been poured) and a fine spray driven 
against the nest-boxes and nest-bowls, or 
even against the birds. 

These insect sprayers are well made of 
heavy tin. We sell them for fifty cents 




each. They cannot be mailed, but should 
be sent by express, or with other goods 
by freight. 

Birds which are lousy may be _ dusted 
under the feathers, next the skin, with any 
good lice powder, or with tobacco dust. 
The best time for such treatment is at night, 
when the birds may be readily caught and 



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117 



handled. It is also a good idea to throw a 
pinch of tobacco dust in the nest, on and 
around the squabs, about once a month during 
the summer. 

Lice are the terror of chicken raisers, but 
we never knew a squab raiser, if intelligent, to 
be troubled very much or very long with lice. 

Once free of lice, the birds almost in- 
variably keep themselves clean. It is only 
the loft where cleaning is badly neglected 
which is troubled with lice. 

There is a light-colored grub which some- 
.times forms in the manure on the bottom 
of the nest-box, but no trouble comes from 
it and it does not get on the bird. 

RED AND WHITE WHEAT. It is im- 
possible for us to tell what is the difference 
between red and white wheat. We do not 
know the chemical constituents which color 
one kernel red and another variety white. 
This question is asked us by inquirers who 
have never heard of red wheat, yet it is a 
common and staple variety of wheat quoted 
daily in the Chicago and other grain markets. 
If you cannot get red wheat where you live, 
feed white wheat, which is fed regularly by 
nine-tenths of our customers. As we say 
in the Manual, we feed red wheat instead 
of white wheat because it is not so much 
of a laxative. When we cannot get red 
wheat, which happens _ at some periods of 
some years, we feed white wheat. 

The effect of wheat is to keep the bowels 
of the birds open and regular. There is 
not much fattening substance in wheat. 
That function is performed by corn. 

Birds fed on wheat and nothing else get 
so weak that they do no breeding. We 
have found this out by the experience of 
customers. Now and then a customer buys 
birds without thinking that they must eat 
to live. After he has got them he suddenly 
recalls that they must be fed and starts out 
to find something. We recall vividly one 
Kansas customer of this kind who was induced 
by some grain man to buy a lot of wheat 
and nothing else. After feeding his birds 
nothing but wheat for two weeks, he wrote 
us that they were dumpy and showing no 
inclination to build nests. "They are all 
the time on the floor," he wrote, "and cannot 
fly." He had made them so weak by feeding 
the wheat that they could not fly to their 
nest-boxes, to say nothing of building nests. 

USE OF LEG BAND OUTFIT. The 

aluminum which we sell with our leg band 
outfit is seamless tubing and by the use of 
the outfit you produce a band which is 
seamless and which can be applied only 
to a squab, because, of course, the feet of an 
old pigeon are too large to be squeezed through 
the band as a squab's can be squeezed. To 
make an open band (which can be applied 
to the leg of a full-grown pigeon) out of the 
closed band, you simply make a saw-cut 
lengthwise the band, then open the band 



with your fingers, put it around the leg of 
the pigeon, then close the band again. If 
any one has old pigeons which he wishes to 
band, he will find this band outfit quite as 
serviceable as if used only for banding squabs. 
We have sold thousands of these band out- 
fits, and customers like them first-rate. 
We can furnish open bands (to be applied 
to the legs of full-grown pigeons) made of 
aluminum, V-shaped joint; each band 
numbered, a first-class band in every way, 
for one cent each, or one dollar for one 
hundred, postage paid. 

MANAGEMENT OF BATH PANS. The 

sixteen-inch bath pan which we recommend 
and sell is better than a larger size, no matter 
what the capacity of your plant. It is 
easier emptied of water, there is less strain 
on the arms, and it is kept clean easier. 

There should be one bath pan for every 
twelve pairs of birds. If you have about 
48 pairs of birds in each unit, you should 
have four bath pans in that unit, outside 
in the flying pen. You can get along very 
well with one drinking fountain to a unit 
with that number of birds, or a less number 
of birds, but if you do not have bath pans 
enough the bathing water will get dirtier 
than it should and the birds should not be 
given an opportunity to drink this dirty 
water. 

In the winter, when the birds are shut 
up in the squab-house frequently for days 
at a time, it is not necessary to bathe them 
every day. Bathe them once each week, 
taking the bath pans into the squab-house 
and letting the pans stand before them for 
about an hour. If you let the water s„and. 
in the bath pans in the squab-house in t.L-e 
winter time all day, they will splash 1.^4 
much out onto the floor, and the house v. 
get damp. 

If your plant is a small one, the best wr 
for you to manage is this: At evenir»„ 
(sunset, sometimes before) your birds will 
all leave the flying pen for their nests and 
perches inside. Then fill the bath pans with 
water. When the following day dawns, and 
before you are up, the pigeons will fly out and 
take a bath. When you get up, go to your 
pigeons and empty the bath pans, turning 
them bottom side up and leaving them that 
way all day. 

The price of these sixteen-inch bath pans 
is forty cents, crated ready for shipment. 

KILLING WITH A KNIFE. Some dealers 
in squabs wish them to be killed with a knife 
as this gets out the blood and makes the 
flesh somewhat whiter. Find out whether 
or not the man to whom you are going to 
sell the squabs wants them bled. The way 
to kill them with a knife is to insert the 
knife inside the bill and cut the jugular vein. 
Then hang up the squab bill downward and 
let the blood drain out. By using the knife 
on the inside of the throat you do not make 



118 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



a wound which is visible to the eye of the 
consumer. Use a knife with a long, narrow, 
sharp blade. We sell them for forty-five 
cents each, postage paid. 

CONCERNING NEST BOXES. Many 
customers who do not use egg-crates or 
orange boxes, but build their nest-boxes of 
half -inch or rive-eighths lumber, have written 
us that they have used the construction 
which we illustrate herewith and which is 
good, because cleaning can be better done. 

The bottoms of the nest-boxes are re- 
movable and rest on cleats, as the picture 
shows. The cleats are seven-eighths or one 
inch square and are nailed to the uprights. 

When this construction is employed, it is 
not necessary that you have a block or 
base screwed to our nappy or nest-bowl. 
The nappy or nest-bowl may be screwed 
directly onto this removable nest-box bottom. 

It is not necessary to nail a strip of wood 
across the fronts of the nest-boxes, to prevent 
the squabs from falling out. 

The squabs stay in the nest until they 
are ready to leave it, and it is very rare to 
find one on the floor. It will be noticed 
that in the cities, the street pigeons' nests 
in many cases will be found on the open 
cornices of high buildings, and if squabs 




stay in such nests until they are able to 
flv, the beginner with squabs ought not to 
be worried about his birds' nests which are 
only a few feet from the floor. 

SQUABS IN CHICAGO. The following 
article is taken from the Chicago American : 
Squab Far min g; is a new Chicago Industry. 

Little Capital is Required and Persons of good 

Judgment and Care can Realize Good 

Profits from Pigeon Culture. 

If all the birds in all the pies were suddenly 
to lift their voices in song like those in the 
nurserv rhvme, the chorus would be loud 
and long, for raising of squabs for food is a 
constantlv growing and lucrative industry, 
*nd withal very fascinating. 



A number of farms, each sheltering several 
hundred birds, exe being conducted within 
easy reach of the Chicago market. 

Such clubs as the Union League and 
Athletic are always ready buyers. Plump 
birds are readily sold for a dollar apiece for 
breeding purposes, and their squabs at $4 
a dozen for food. As in any field of labor, 
the best results come from studied and 
carefully planned effort. Utmost cleanliness 
in food and in the little compartments to 
which each bird comes with unerring instinct 
to nest enters largely into success. . 

Eggs of clear black or white birds are 
difficult to hatch because the birds of those 
colors are very restless and nervous, not 
caring for their eggs; sometimes only one in 
a dozen being matured. 

In four weeks the young bird is ready for 
the market. Many of the squab farms are 
side issues of those employed at other voca- 
tions during the day, and bid fair to attract 
the attention of those seeking quick returns 
from a small outlay. 

Attention to recognized habits of the 
birds, sanitary conditions and good breeds 
for parent birds are all that is necessary to 
success. 

ACTUAL TESTS CONVINCED THEM. 

In Appendix A in our Manual, we tell of 
a sale of our Homers which we made in 
February, 1903, to a ship captain, who 
intended to sail from Boston around Cape 
Horn to the Pacific coast, with stops, the 
whole voyage to be made in about a year, 
the pigeons to furnish fresh squab meat for 
the Ion J journey. The ship went to Florida, 
from Boston, thence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 
safelv, and sailed from there October 1, lt03. 
Under date of June 22, 1904, the Captain 
wrote us as follows from New York City: 
"The birds proved all you claim for them, 
and even more. I put them in a small house 
I built, four by eight, and four by four flying 
pen, on March 7, 1903. (This was on the deck 
of the ship.) They all hatched before April 
6, and up to June 5, 1904, every_ tird had 
hatched twelve times, and one pair thirteen 
times. I saved one pair of the first hatches, 
that were born about April 6, and in October 
they hatched their first pair, and up to June 
5 had six hatchings, which I think was pretty 
good. I am satisfied that if the birds are 
taken care of there is tig money in them, 
and just as soon as I can get a location in 
New Jersey, near New York City, I will send 
to you for two or three hundred pairs. I have 
an option on a place now and will know 
tomorrow. I am pretty sure I shall get it 
and by next Monday I am in hopes to begin 
my houses. As soon as I get them ready, 
I will send you a draft for what birds I want. 
As my houses are built I will order and fili 
them and I hope you will trv and give me a 
good lot of birds. I shall build for one 
thousand pairs this summer and increase 
next year if the birds are as good as those 



SUPPLEMENT 



119 



you gave me. In two weeks you may expect 
to get an order for two hundred pairs, so you 
can begin to get them paired off. Any sug- 
gestion you can give me about the houses will 
be very acceptable, as I am going to begin 
to build at once." 

Since the above was written, he has built 
his first house and we have shipped him 
the first large lot of birds. His experience 
is certainly convincing. Any one who has 
doubts can start with a small purchase of 
birds and find out the facts for himself, just 
as this customer did. 

We are continually filling large orders for 
customers who started with a small purchase 
and did well. Why don't you start with 
two dozen or so pairs and have the experience 
of this Michigan customer whose order we 
received this summer: "A short time ago 
I received twenty-five pairs of your Homers. 
They are all doing finely, every bird being 
lively and full of vim. They are almost all 
at work now, nest-building, and I am more 
than satisfied with results thus far obtained. 
I am about to build two houses, each house 
to accommodate two hundred and fifty 
pairs, divided into five flocks of fifty pairs. 
Enclosed find New York draft to pay for 
four hundred and fifty pairs Extra Homers." 

Under date of July 1, 1904, a customer 
writes us from an Ohio town: "The Homers 
I purchased of you two years ago this month 
have been doing very well, in short, their 
increase has been marvelous, averaging nine 
and one-half (9}i) pairs per year for the 
two years I have had them. I now have 
quite a flock, bred exclusively from the 
three pairs of mated birds purchased from 
you, bat think it is about time to get some 
new blood in the flock ; therefore will you 
kindly quote me your prices for birds from 
one to three or four months old, equal parts 
cocks and hens, so that I may turn them 
in with my young birds to prevent as much 
inbreeding as possible in that way. I want 
to say that I at first had some doubts as to the 
profits of the business, but must confess that 
thjy are even more than you have ever 
claimed." 

Some of our most successful customers are 
women. One writes us this summer as 
follows: "Enclosed find post-office money 
order for $7.03, payment for the following 
order: three dozen wood nappies, three bath 
pans, four galvanized iron drinkers. Ship 
by freight or express as is cheaper. Some- 
thing over a year ago I bought twelve pairs 
of pigeons of you. Imperative duties have 
prevented mv giving them as much attention 
as I would wish, but thev have increased and 
prospered with but trifling loss. There are 
now more than forty pairs nesting, and 
altogether a flock of something over one 
hundred and fifty. I have sold none, not 
having had time even to sort them out and 
send them to market. I hope soon to get 
into the lofts and put things in first-class 
shape and weed out all the culls. I 



am very well satisfied with my experiment." 

A customer in New York writes: "There 
have been two pigeon fanciers here this 
week who say they have no such fine stock 
as ours, nor have they seen anything like 
them." 

BOSTON PRICES. The squab market is 
improving every year, and breeders every- 
where are getting better prices, even right 
here in Boston, the centre of the section 
where our business is done, and where the 
interest in squabs is very great. The follow- 
ing quotations from the Boston Daily Globe 
cover a period of over five years, and, as will 
be seen, prices are firmly maintained. New 
York prices are better than these: 

March 28, 1903 $4.00 and $5.00 a dozen 

Apr. 25, 1903 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

May 23, 1903 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen 

June 27, 1903 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

July 11, 1903 3.50 a dozen 

Aug. 22, 1903 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

Sept. 19, 1903 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Oct. 24, 1903 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen 

Nov. 14, 1903 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Dec. 5, 1903 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Jan. 30, 1904 5.00 and 6.00 a dozen 

Feb. 20, 1904 4.50 a dozen 

Mar. 12, 1904 5.00 and 5.50 a dozen 

Apr. 30, 1904 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen 

May 28, 1904 .... 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

June 11, 1904 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

July 23, 1904 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Aug. 13, 1904 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Aug 20, 1904 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Sept. 10, 1904 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Oct. 8, 1904 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

Nov. 5, 1904. . . .3.00, 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

Dec. 31, 1904 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Jan. 7, 1905 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Mar. 25, 1905 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Apr. 1, 1905 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen 

May 27, 1905 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

June 3, 1905 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

July 8, 1905 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen 

Aug. 12, 1905 4.50 a dozen 

Sept. 23, 1905 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen 

Oct. 21, 1905 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

Dec. 16, 1905 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

Jan. 20, 1906 4.00 a dozen 

Mar. 31, 1906 4.25 and 4.75 a dozen 

Apr. 7, 1906 4.00 and 5.00 a dozen 

May 26, 1906 3.50 a dozen 

June 16, 1906 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

July 28, 1906 3.50 a dozen 

Aug. 22, 1906 3.50 a dozen 

Oct. 20, 1906 3.50 a dozen 

Jan. 5, 1907 5.00 a dozen 

Jan. 19, 1907 3.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Mar. 9, 1907 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen 

Mar. 23, 1907 3.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Apr. 6, 1907 4.00 and 5.00 a dozen 

June 29, 1907 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen 

Sept. 28, 1907 4.00 a dozen 

Nov. 23, 1907 3.00 and 4.50 a dozen 

Dec. 14, 1907 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

Jan. 18, 1908 5.00 a dozen 



120 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



Jan. 25, 1908 $4.00 and $5.00 a dozen 

Feb. S, 1908 4.00 and 5.00 a dozen 

Mar. 2, 1908 3.50 and 5.00 a dozen 

Mar. 21, 1908 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

Apr. 11, 1908 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen 

Mav 9, 1908 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

juiie 6, 1908 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen 

Tulv 3, 1908 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen 

July 18, 1908 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen 

(This edition of this Manual went to press 
in August, 1908. If you write us in 1909 or 
later for Boston quotations we will give them 
to you by letter.) 

Sometimes different newspapers published 
in the same city will give varying quotations 
for squabs, as it depends largely on the 
reporter who writes them. For example, 
in the Boston Globe for Feb. 8, 1908, squabs 
were quoted at $4 and $5 a dozen. In the 
Boston Herald of that same day is the follow- 
ing quotation: "Squabs are high at $5 and 
$6 a dozen." On March 14, 1908, the Boston 
Globe quoted squabs at $3.50 and $4 a 
dozen, while the Boston Herald quoted them 
at $5 and $6 a dozen. 

In every large city are published trade 
bulletins known as "Price Current,' "Boston 
Prices," "Market Bulletin," "Smith & Jones 
Price Current," etc. In some large cities 
one printer will furnish a great many middle- 
men with the same printed sheet, putting 
at the head of each the name of a dealer or 
firm. The prices given in these trade sheets 
are never the true prices, but are what these 
middlemen would like to pay to get the farm 
products quoted. This is quite an important 
subject to farm people but we do not remem- 
ber ever having seen the attention of poultry 
and produce raisers called to this matter 
before. For example, these price current 
sheets in New York will quote squabs at 
$2.50 a dozen when the leading squab buyers 
in that city, such as Messrs. Silz, McLaughlin, 
and Knapp & Van Nostrand are paying 
from $4 to $6 a dozen to squab breeders and 
reselling to their New York retail trade at 
$5 to $8 a dozen. These trade sheets and 
the trade columns in the daily newspapers 
(which are supplied with quotations by the 
dealers) not only quote squabs at prices 
which they would like to pay, but poultry 
and evervthing in the nature of farm produce. 
Their object, of course, is to get farm produce 
as cheap as they can. If a producer objects 
to the small price they offer him, they will 
send him their printed price quotation sheet 
and write, "You will find the market prices- 
enclosed." The producer not only of squabs 
but of all kinds of farm produce should inform 
himself of the true market and the only way 
to do so is to go into that market by letter, 
telephone or in person and offer to BUY, 
not to sell. When you have found out, for 
example, that the dealer wants $6 a dozen 
for squabs which he has for sale, you can go 
to that man with your squabs and get $4 a 
dozen. Don't let him take more than his 
fair share of the profits. Some of the poultry 



and produce buyers are not reliable. The 
Rural New Yorker is a farm paper which 
keeps its readers posted on unreliable and 
irresponsible middlemen in New York State. 
Assure yourself that the man or firm which 
is going to buy your squabs is not only 
prepared to pay you good prices but is able 
to give you cash returns promptly. 

The best way to sell squabs is direct to the 
private trade at about double what the 
middlemen pay. A customer of ours in 
Illinois who is a printer gets at the private 
trade by the use . of a handsome circular 
giving photographs of squabs and telling 
what they are, prices, etc. He circularizes 
the rich residents and also sends out the 
circular in reply to newspaper advertise- 
ments. His plan works well and gets him 
the top prices. We have told many of our 
customers of the plan and we tell it again 
here so that you may get up such a circular 
if you wish and go after the private trade. 

It will be noticed, in the above table of 
prices, that although the supply of squabs 
has greatly increased during the past five 
years, the demand for squabs created by 
our advertising has more than kept pace 
with it. Prices at this writing (1908) are as 
high or higher than we have ever known 
them. 

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT. Not a few 
breeders raise squabs by the hundred and 
are successful in every detail of the manage- 
ment of their plant except selling the product. 
Some beginners seem to think they will be 
perfectly helpless without the co-operation 
of some dealer. 

It is a shame to raise fine squabs and 
then sell them to some commission man or 
other dealer who immediately resells them, 
in most cases for double what he pays you for 
them. It is the steady practice of the dealers 
in Chicago, for instance, to pay from $2 to 
S3 per dozen and resell them for $3 to $6 per 
dozen. If you don't believe this is true, 
drop your role of a squab seller and go into 
these markets to buy and you will see how 
much profit is being made off your goods. 

The squab dealers and commission men 
do not advertise for customers. The squabs 
are just as salable in your hands as in theirs. 
Many people would prefer to buy of the 
producer, being surer of a fresher and more 
satisfactory product. 

If you are producing squabs, by all means 
sell them to the consumer and get the price 
which the middleman is getting. It is 
essential, however, if you are going to do this, 
that you make it known in some way that 
you have good squabs to sell. Think of the 
rich people, the well-to-do people, the good 
diners around you or nearest you, and figure 
out for yourself a way of getting to them 
the information that you are selling something 
which they want and will buy steadily. 
Perhaps a neatly printed circular sent by 
mail will do it. Or an advertisement in the 



SUPPLEMENT 



121 



newspaper in your territory which will 
produce results. Or you might pick out two 
or three likely families and make them a 
present of a squab or two to get them started. 

The products of the plants of hundreds 
of our small customers are spoken for ahead 
of capacity all the time by a neighborhood 
trade, and this is what you should aim at. 
This is the way the finest butter and eggs 
and poultry are sold, and also squabs, and 
the plants of our customers who are selling 
squabs direct to the consumer are paying 
better than the plants of other customers 
whose product is marketed with poor judg- 
ment. 

Don't be too fast to sell to a hotel. Some 
farmers and breeders get the idea that if only 
they can find a hotel to take all their goods, 
their fortune is made. In even. 7 city there 
are one or more first-class hotels which want 
the best of everything and pay accordingly. 
On the other hand, there are many hotels 
which do not care for the best. For example, 
few hotels care for the best ducks, because 
a single dinner order is half a duck, and half 
of the bij, first-class, expensive ducks is more 
than a diner wants, so the hotel keeper of 
course prevents waste by buying a small 
duck. Same with squabs. The hotel buyers 
are sharp bargainers, and if they think that 
their trade will be satisfied with a seven or 
eight-pound squab, they will take such a 
bird rather than pay more for a ten or twelve- 
pound squab. The average squab breeder, 
like the average farmer and gardener, is 
content to sell to the middleman, and if you 
make the acquaintance of a good one, of 
course you avoid some bother, yet it has been 
our experience that it is just as easy to sell 
squabs to the consumer as to anybody else, 
in fact, after you have started with him 
he will come after you and pay you a great 
deal more than anybody else, still he is 
paying just what he always has paid, and he 
is better satisfied. Squabs are phenomenal 
sellers and it is well to take advantage of 
this condition, which is not always true of 
poultry. 

MR. McGREW CALLS. The following is 

from the pen of Mr. T. F. McGrew, associate 
editor of the Feather, poultry editor of the 
Country Gentleman, also a widely quoted 
writer for the government's bureau of animal 
industry, and a lecturer for the New York 
State Board of Agriculture. He is one of the 
best known judges of poultry and pigeons in 
the United States. The visit to our farm of 
which he speaks was made in November, 
1903; since then our stock of Homers has 
been increased. 

"It was our pleasure within the last two 
weeks to visit the home plant of the Plymouth 
Rock Squab Co., at Melrose, Mass. We were 
beautifully entertained by Mr. Elmer C. Rice 
and his family. The buildings at the home 
plant are by far the best that we have ever 
seen for squab growing. Each building is 



constructed for the best possible light, air, 
and sanitary conditions. Those who may 
be interested in squab growing will find it to 
their profit to communicate with Mr. Rice 
at Boston for the printed matter which gives 
a full description of his plant and methods 
of doing business. 

"We saw at this plant 12,000 full-grown, 
well-matured Homing Pigeons ready for dis- 
tribution for growing squabs. In all our 
experience we have never seen a better lot 
than these. They are large, vigorous, full- 
breasted, broad-shouldered specimens such 
as one would select for producing squabs of 
the best character. There are Blues, Blue 
Checks, Silvers, Reds, and mixed colors such 
as would naturally be produced through the 
cross mating of any of these varieties. While 
we were there Mr. Rice shipped from the 
plant between five and six hundred birds, 
all of which are sent out in large roomy 
baskets, the baskets returnable at the shipper's 
expense. So far as we can calculate, we are un- 
der the impression that Mr. Rice is doing a 
very large business. In addition to this we 
carefully perused a number of letters received 
by Mr. Rice from localities as far west as San 
Francisco, as _ far south as Florida, all of 
these communications speaking in the highest 
terms of the shipments made to them by Mr. 
Rice." 

RUNTS NOT DESIRABLE. From the 
Farm Journal — "Our remarks in the October 
issue respecting the relative merits of large 
and small birds were put in a way to be 
easily misunderstood. 

"By large birds we meant Runts and that 
class, usually found only in the hands of 
fanciers and experts in pigeon breeding. 
They are not at all desirable for squab 
breeding. 

"Common pigeons are not hardy and 
prolific in proportion to their smallness. The 
largest of these should be selected for breeding 
always. 

"There is a great difference in the size and 
quality of what are called common birds. 
Where they are chosen as the basis of a squab 
breeder's business a careful selection should 
be made. 

"Of all the pure-bred types, we know of 
nothing superior or equal to the Homers for 
breeding squabs. They are hardy and 
prolific and rear large, meaty squabs. There 
is also room for selection in Homers, some 
being much larger than others. 

"When a breeder already has a flock of 
common pigeons he can greatly improve it 
by the infusion of Homer blood." 

USEFUL MESSENGERS. We have quite 
a call for our birds from physicians having a 
country practice. They leave two or three 
birds at a patient's house to be let loose when 
the doctor's services are needed. In cases 
of expected confinement at a distance of 
several miles from the doctor's home, our 



122 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



birds are extremely _ useful. We earnestly 
advise country physicians with a wide ter- 
ritory to cover to look into this matter 
and Communicate with us. It will be money 
in their pockets. 

DEMAND IN COLORADO. We have had 
the same experience with the Western trade 
as the following writer in the Western Poultry 
World, of course excepting Calitornia, which 
is one of the best squab markets in the 
country. What he says is conservative and 
sensible and bears out what we have always 
maintained, that wherever there are men 
and women who are good eaters, tiiere squabs 
will be eaten. If you live in a town where 
a squab never was seen, but where there are 
people who set a good table, to them you 
certainly can sell squabs: 

"Having been asked by your editor to 
write an article on pigeons or squab raising 
and also having said 1 would, I commence 
by stating a few facts which I have gained 
from both practical experience and inquiries 
from Eastern breeders. In the first place, 
I want to say that little is known of this 
industry in the West, and in fact it has not 
been known in the East until about ten years 
ago, when they began to take it up about 
the same as the Western people are doing 
now. Many got discouraged at finding it 
was not a get-rich-quick scheme. 

"I am constantly having letters from 
different parts of the country asking me 
if squab raising pays, and saying that from 
inquiries they have made at meat markets 
and of commission merchants, they are told 
that there is no demand for them. Of course 
there is not at the present time, for if there 
was they could not get them. No man can 
sell what he has not got. I once went to a 
gentleman and told him my plan of starting 
a squab farm, and he in turn went to his 
market man and asked him what he thought 
of it, and he said I was either lazy or crazy. 
Now this man knew absolutely nothing of 
squabs, and never had any in his store, and, 
consequently, never had any calls for them. 
I dare say that if one were to go to every 
market in the city they would tell you the 
same thing, and nine out of every ten people 
would tell you they had never eaten a squab 
in their lives; still I have people— come 
right to mv door — who come a good distance 
out of their way and want to buy squabs of 
me. The reason hotels and restaurants do 
not continually have them on their bill of fare 
is because they cannot be supplied at all 
times. Today thev can get perhaps a dozen 
and tomorrow, if they wish any, thev cannot 
get them, and even then they are obliged to 
take common squabs and not Homers. As 
to the demand, I want to sav right here, that 
I know one concern that will contract to take 
400 dozen a week at good, fair prices. Two 
parties that I know of right here in this city 
are constantlv in receipt of letters from hotels 
and clubs in Denver wanting to buy squabs. 



In the East, where there are ten squab farms 
to one in the West, the prices are higher than 
here. It is because of the demand." 

ELEGANT PROFIT. The following is from 
Vick's Magazine, an article on squab raising 
by a practical breeder: 

"Of recent years the demand for the 
toothsome squab has been so great that the 
supply does not come up to the demand. 
Where years ago they were used only for 
invalids, now they are on the bill of fare in 
almost all restaurants and hotels. They 
command good prices at all seasons and an 
elegant profit is derived from them by the 
raisers. It used to be that pigeons could not 
thrive when housed up, but now the former 
obstacles have been overcome and better 
success is made where they are confined than 
where they have their freedom. 

"The squab business if conducted properly 
will bring in a large percentage of profit 
considering the first capital invested. Only 
a few hundred dollars are required to start 
where such a sum would be nothing to com- 
mence in such a business as stock keeping, 
etc., and yet with a few hundred pairs of 
pigeons any one with a little judgment can 
make a living for himself and family. _ Many 
farmers' sons could make nice yearly incomes 
by stocking a part of their barn (not used 
for anything else) with pigeons. The risks are 
not so great as with chickens, but the birds 
must be attended to and not neglected. 

"With chickens one must not only feed 
the old, but must also give the little ones 
their meals, but not so with pigeon breeding. 
You feed the old birds, and they feed their 
young. One person can feed a thousand 
pairs of birds in about a quarter hour, the 
rest is left for the old ones_ to do. The little 
birds are fed from pre-digested food from 
the crops of their parents, who by a sort of 
pumping force the food into the squab's 
mouths. It takes no longer time for a person 
to feed a lot of birds with young than it does 
without young. 

"After the squabs are four to five weeks old 
they are ready for market. It costs but one 
and one-half cents per pair for feeding birds 
a week and their young also, so with the 
prices received for the squabs, which is forty 
cents per pair in summer to eighty cents per 
pair in the winter, one can imagine the 
percentage of profit. 

"Squabs of the largest size demand the 
highest ma'ket prices-, so it pays to commence 
right by buying only good large stock. The 
amount of labor required is almost nothing, 
in fact unless very large numbers are kept, 
one will have only a few hours' work daily. 
The writer has nearly 2,000, and it takes only 
fifteen minutes to feed and half an hour to 
give fresh water. Of course it takes a dav 
or two a week for killing young ones, and a 
day or two each month for cleaning buildings, 
then the work is about done. One person 
can attend 1 ,000 pairs nicely and have ample 



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123 



time to do other work around a place. The 
writer rinds it a snao to other occupations and 
one is nis own boss and can go or come when 
he pleases. It is the business for a young 
man; he can advance as he saves money. 
There are some who commenced on a few 
dollars and by careful saving now operate 
plants of thousands of pairs of birds. 

"The larger the pigeon, the larger the 
squab, the higher the price. The breeding 
houses need not be heated artificially in 
winter as the birds can withstand any tem- 
perature and in cold weather sit upon their 
young until they are feathered sufficiently 
to stand the cold." 

ENLARGED HIS PLANT WITH PROFITS. 
Experience of a Breeder who Made it Pay 
from the Beginning. In Country Life, a 

monthly mpgazine, one of the handsomest 
and highest-toned publications, the experience 
of a gentleman in squab raising gives the 
following facts: "Six years ago I did not 
have a bird, but I invested fifty dollars in 
purchasing twenty -five pairs of extra-choice 
Hnmer pigeons, remodelling a poultry house 
for their accommodation. I had kept pigeons 
for pleasure for five years, previously, and 
felt that I knew a little about them. In these 
six years I have not invested another dollar 
excepting the dollars the birds have earned, 
and my present establishment of five houses 
and fifteen hundred pigeons, which has 
cost me two thousand dollars, is all paid for. 
In addition, for the last three years, I have 
paid out from five to seven dollars each week 
for the wages of a helper, to dress the squabs 
and clean -he houses, for my regular business 
would not permit .ne to attend to these duties 
myself. 

"The consensus of opinion of all experienced 
squab breeders stamps the Homer as the best 
pigeon for this purpose. This variety is 
strong and vigorous; a hearty feeder and good 
worker; bright-eyed, alert, and active; 
stocky, symmetrical and full-breasted, which 
counts so much in squabs. They are also 
prolific, and their squabs are full-feathered 
and fit for market in four weeks. 

"I was very fortunate in getting my first 
twenty-five pairs of birds. These were 
Homers, full-blooded, and had established 
records for flying, having taken first honors 
in several contests. 

"They not only averaged me seven and 
one-half piirs of squabs a year, but stamped 
their vitality on the birds I have selected 
from their young. 

"As my profits accrued I purchased 
straight Homer stock, picking from the best 
near-by breeders, as well as those of estab- 
lished repu ration at a distance. 

"I alwavs put a lot of new birds in a clean 
coop bv themselves, eive generous supply 
of feed and water, and have plenty of nesting 
materials in the coop, and if they have come 
from a distance put a good poultry powder 
in their feed for the first meal, and let them 



alone for a few days, If they are strong, 
healthy birds they ought soon to begin to 
carry materials and build nests. When nest 
building is fully under way I transfer each 
mated pair to permanent breeding quarters. 
When I find a pair of birds mated, I call my 
assistant and tell him which bird to keep his 
eyes on, and not to lose sight of it a single 
instant. At the same time 1 note the other 
biid and catch it. I pass the caught bird 
to the assistant. He points out the other 
bird and it is soon caught. I band all 
purchases as well as those 1 raise. 

"My weekly expense for feeding my flock 
of fifteen hundred pigeons during the month 
of December, 1903, was eighteen dollars and 
thirty cents for the following: Three hundred 
pounds of cracked corn, three bushels each of 
wheat, peas and kaffir corn, one and one-half 
bushels of millet, one bushel of hemp and half 
a bushel of cracked rice. The rice I do not 
feed regularly, but give when the bird's 
bowels are loose, for which condition it is an 
excellent corrective. Feed is now much 
higher than last year. 

"Pigeon-keeping for squabs may fitly be 
termed a twentieth-century industry, for 
only during the last five years has it by its 
rapid development attained to the dignity of 
a special business. The business will surely 
still more increase during the first decade 
of this century. The price of squabs has been 
strongly maintained during the five years 
just passed, notwithstanding the marvelous 
increase in the business. The business furnishes 
a way by which either men or women (for 
many of the_ latter have successfully taken 
up squab raising) can embark in an enterprise 
which does not call for severe bodily exertion 
and which if intelligently managed will yield 
good dividends." 

SQUAB RAISING- ON THE FARM. 
Pigeons Kept in the Upper Part of Duck and 
Poultry Houses. — The following is from an 
article in the Country Gentleman, entitled 
"A Combination Plant, Fruit, Bees, Fowls 
and Squabs": 

"For growing squabs some have separate 
houses, some use the lofts of old barns, and 
many are so constructing their poultry 
buildings as to have quarters for growing 
squabs in the second story of the poultry 
houses. This is gained by laying a flat roof 
on top of the poultry house, on top of this 
a double thickness of tar paper well coated 
with hot tar, with a board floor laid over it. 
This provides the floor for the pigeon house, 
the roof for the poultry house, and makes it 
absolutely vermin proof both ways. A large 
duck grower of our acquaintance has squab 
houses of this character built over his duck 
brooder houses and his poultry houses. 
Several thousand pairs of breeding pigeons 
are kept in this wav, with a hanging outdoor 
flying aviary for the pigeons. When it has been 
successful on so large a scale, smaller growers 
need not hesitate in adopting such a plan. 



124 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



"Of course cleanliness, care and sanitary- 
conditions about the plant are imperative. 
The most successful squab growers do not 
scatter sand or dirt of any kind on the floor 
or in nest boxes. Neither do they use any- 
thing but straw for the birds to build their 
nests. The droppings are all thoroughly 
scraped up from the board floor, from the 
nest boxes and under the perches once or 
twice a week with a hoe, and stored awa;' in 
bags and sold at 50 to 60 cents per bushel. 
They are used by tanners in making the very 
best grades of leather. These droppings are 
of no value when mixed with tobacco stems, 
shavings, sawdust or sand. Grain or feed 
of any kind if mixed in with them will not 
injure their value, nor will some little straw 
or feathers count much against their value. 
Buy a good sharp hoe; floors constructed in 
this way can be thoroughly cleaned by sci ap- 
ing up once or twice a week, and in this way 
the sanitary conditions will be of the very 
best. 

"Those who do not care to dispose of the 
droppings in this way in some instances 
spread from six to eight inches of soil from 
their land over the floor of the squab house. 
This is allowed to remain from three to six 
months. Usually at the end of the moulting 
season all the nest boxes and the whole house 
is thoroughly cleaned out and the entire con- 
tents of same dumped on the floor, scraped and 
hauled away and scattered over the land. 
This makes an excellent fertilizer. We know 
of one instance where a large number of 
squabs are kept in this way, and the house is 
cleaned but twice a year. In the spring all 
the cleanings from the house are hauled out 
and spread over the land for the growing of 
summer crops. After the fall moult, the 
place is thoroughly cleaned up for winter, 
the cleanings of the house are stored away 
in a dry place and retained until spring. 
Many persons would call this a filthy, un- 
healthful way to keep a squab house, but 
some of the most successful breeders follow 
this plan. The presence of the five or six 
inches of dry soil on the floor keeps it in good 
condition throughout the season. The cloud 
of dust that is raised at times by the pigeons 
flapping their wings and flying_ about is 
almost a certain guarantee against insect 
attack. However, we do not advise this 
method. We simply give the facts as we 
have seen them. 

"The only limit to the extent of such a 
plant is the ability of those who possess _ it 
properly to care for and manage all its 
branches at a profit. Where there is a family 
of boys and girls it might be well to engage 
the attention of all in growing these several 
kinds of products, and to lend encourage- 
ment to each by giving him a share of the 
profits. Scattered all over the country are 
thousands of families in country places con- 
tinually worrying_ and wondering why they 
cannot keep their children at home. The 
real reason so many of the young people 



leave the farm is that they are compelled to 
work continually and never receive any 
portion of the income for their labor. If the 
parents would allow their growing families 
to make an equal sum of money or in propor- 
tion to what they can make by leaving home, 
there would be far less complaint on this 
score. All children wish to have the privilege 
of earning a few dollars that they may call 
their own." 

The following paragraph is from the same 
paper in its report of the New York pigeon 
show, January, 1904: 

"There seems to be a depression in the sale 
of high-class pigeons. Well-favored speci- 
mens of the highest character still sell at top 
prices, but the absence of any commercial 
value for a large number of pigeons that are 
grown detracts from the numerous sales that 
their producers might have. If producers of 
the hundreds of varieties of beautiful pigeons 
would turn into the market as squabs the 
greater part of all their product that was 
not valuable for the exhibition room, greater 
returns would come for those which were 
saved for exhibition purposes. There is a 
grand stride forward in growing squabs. 
The combination cf poultry-growing with 
squab-growing works well, and is being 
adopted by so many small farmers as to 
create an unusual demand for all grades of 
pigeons that are good for this purpose. 

"It is well for those who go into the squab 
business to remember that the price is graded 
by size and quality. During winter squabs 
that would average eight or nine pounds to the 
dozen have sold at retail in the New York 
market at from 35 to 40 cents each, while 
those which averaged two or three pounds less 
to the dozen sold at from 12 K to 20 cents. 
It takes quite as much time and as much 
care and food to produce the small specimens 
that bring the lower prices as it does to pro- 
duce the higher grades which bring the better 
prices. People are beginning to find this out, 
and taking advantage of the knowledge, are 
looking about for the best quality of pigeons 
to produce the best market squabs." 

SQUAB PIN-MONEY. The following para- 
graph appeared in the January, 1904, issue 
of the Designer, a monthly magazine for 
women published by the Butterick Publishing 
Company of New York City: 

"A young woman of my acquaintance 
has kept herself supplied with hats, boots and 
gloves during the past year by selling the 
squabs of six pairs of Homer pigeons. They 
require very little care, and the young are 
ready for market when four weeks old. My 
friend is so well pleased with her success that 
she has added seven pairs to her stock, and 
confidently expects to dress herself completely 
on the sum derived from the sale of her 
squabs. — M. P." 

THEY FLEW HOME. A dispatch from 
Paris, printed by the Baltimore Sun, says: 



SUPPLEMENT 



125 



"A man named Maraud complained to M. 
Brunet. Police Commissary for one of the 
districts on the south side of the Seine, that 
he had been robbed of six valuable carrier 
pigeons and said that one of his friends had 
seen them at the house of another man. 

"The magistrate went to the place indicated 
and there saw some birds. 'How did you 
come by them?' he asked of the man. 'Oh, 
I bought them months ago.' was the reply. 

" 'Well, bring them to my office,' said Mr. 
Brunet. There he had a wax seal attached 
to each bird's leg and the birds liberated. 

"They flew back to Maraud's house and 
an hour later the thief was on his way to 
the police depot in the black maria." 

SQUAB INDUSTRY'S GREAT GROWTH. 

Address Delivered _ Before the New Jersey 
State Board of Agriculture. Years ago when 
poultry and egg production was being first 
advocated extensively, there were many 
fears expressed that the business would be 
overdone, that chickens and eggs would come 
to be common and low priced, and the fear 
that there would be no money in the business 
no doubt kept many out of it. Nevertheless, 
more and more have gone into poultry and 
eggs year after year, and millions of dollars' 
worth of both are marketed yearly. Whole 
communities, like Petaluma, California, are 
given up to poultry and eggs. Eggs got as 
high as sixty cents a dozen in the large cities 
the past winter (1904). 

Some people not informed as to squabs 
think that if many go into squab raising the 
prices are going to drop until there is no 
profit in the business. On the contrary, 
prices for squabs have been increasing every 
year here in the East, and they are going to 
increase in the West in the years to come. 
Consumers who have read our advertising 
all over the country are eating squabs who 
never ate them before, and the effect of our 
advertising on the general squab market 
everywhere has been to boost prices. 'Well- 
to-do people who are led to get into the habit 
of having squabs on their tables keep on 
ordering them, and tell others, and thus the 
market gro-vs. 

If all the Homer breeders we have sold 
during the years we have been in business 
were concentrated in one plant, we could sell 
the entire squab output of that one plant to 
any one of a hundred commission men in one 
of the large cities. 

New Jersey is doing well with squabs. 
Other States, notably California, Iowa, 
Wisconsin, Michigan and Massachusetts are 
producing a great many. Just what is being 
accomplished in New Jersey comes as a 
surprise to people who look upon this business 
as something new and untried. At the 
annual meeting of the New Jersey State 
Board of Agriculture in January ,_ 1904, an 
address was given by Mr. G .L. Gillinghamon 
squab raising, in the course of which he said : 

"The production of squabs for the markets 



of our large cities is an industry that is reach- 
ing considerable proportions in this State. 
And, although it is growing yearly, yet the 
prices_ seem to be advancing; showing that 
there is an unlimited demand. 

"The great scarcity of game all over our 
country compels the keepers of first-class 
hotels and restaurants to look for something 
to take its place, and at the same time be sure 
of a supply at all seasons of the year. There- 
fore they have hit upon the squab to fill this 
void, and now when one calls for quail on 
toast, or order of a similar nature, it will 
very often be found that the quail was raised 
in a pigeon loft, and is much younger, more 
tender and juicy than the quail would have 
been, could it have been secured. 

"This is a business that can be carried on 
in connection with poultry raising, and is one 
that may be conducted upon village lots 
by women and young persons, if need be, and 
by those whose other business takes their 
attention during the middle portions of the 
day, as the labor connected with it is not 
heavy. _ It is particularly adapted to women 
who wish to add something to their income. 
In fact, women are more apt to succeed in 
it than most men, as it requires close atten- 
tion to the little things, as it is the many 
little things that go to make up the final 
profits at the end; as women are generally 
more patient and thorough with small details 
they will be more successful. 

"The extent to which this business is 
conducted in some parts of our State may 
be shown by stating that in one town in 
Burlington County of about 3000 inhabitants, 
the purchase of one dealer the past year was 
56,582 squabs, for which he paid $16,400; 
while another dealer bought perhaps a little 
over half as many more, bringing the aggre- 
gate to 86,000 squabs, for which the people 
of that town received nearly $25,000; while 
another single grower in the same county 
shipped from his own lofts between 13,000 
and 14,000 birds. 

"The cost of feed and care for a working loft 
of pigeons is about $1 per pair per year 
(manure not sold). Some put it much lower, 
but at the present prices of feed, if proper care 
is given, we should not figure much lower 
than $1. A good pair of birds will produce 
from seven to ten pair of squabs per year; 
generally an average of not over eight pair. 
The prices have ranged the past year from 
25 cents for the poorest, to as high as 75, 
80 and 90 cents for the best. Putting the 
number raised at the lowest (seven pairs) 
and the average price at 40 cents, we have 
$2.80 for the $1 invested yearly after the first 
cost of investment for buildings, etc., which 
need not be expensive, according to the taste 
and_ means of the builder and the amount of 
capital he wishes to put into it. The houses 
should always be placed where the drainage 
is good, preferably upon a dry knoll, facing 
the south or southeast. Some paying lofts 
have been made by fitting up unused wagon- 



126 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



house or wood-house lofts, or over hen houses. 
Other houses have been constructed for 
poultry on the ground floor and the story 
above for pigeons. In this case great care 
must be exercised to have the floor well laid 
with planed and grooved flooring, to keep 
vermin from passing up from the poultry. 

"Very large flocks should not be kept in one 
room. From 50 to 100 pairs a,: e enough to 
keep together for the best results, preferably 
the former. A room 10 x 12 is ample for 50 
pairs of working birds. A house may be 
built of any desired length, 12 feet wide and 
divided into apartments of the above size 
by wire partitions with doors hung on spring 
hinges, to facilitate passing through in 
feeding. 

"These houses should have windows on 
the south, of sufficient size to afford ample 
light in all parts of the house and no more, 
as too much glass makes the house too cold 
on the winter nights. 

"As each pair requires two nests, as they 
are generally sitting in one while raising 
young in the other, there should be twice as 
many nests as pairs of birds, with eighteen 
to twenty to spare, that they may take their 
choice. 

"The period of incubation is eighteen 
days, the hen bird sitting on the eggs, except- 
ing about four hours each day, when the male 
takes her place, while she is feeding and 
resting. 

"During incubation a substance forms in 
the crop of both birds, known as pigeon milk 
or curd, on which the young are fed for the 
first five or six days, until they are old enough 
to digest the grain, which is carried to them 
in the crop of the old birds, and ejected from 
their mouths to the mouth of the young bird 
by the same process as the pigeon milk is 
fed in the first place. Hence it is important 
that the proper feed be given, which should 
consist of a variety of grain and seeds, the 
larger the variety, the better. These should 
consist of cracked corn, rather coarse (prefer- 
ably about three or four pieces, from a single 
kernel) , with the fine sifted out. This should 
be kept before them in troughs or hoppers, 
so constructed that they cannot throw it 
out and waste it, which they will frequently 
do in search of other grains of which they are 
more fond. The other seeds should consist 
of whole corn, Canada peas, Kaffir corn, 
hulled oats, millet and hempseed. These 
should be fed on the floor twice daily, just 
what they will clean up quickly, feeding the 
hempseed but twice or three times per week, 
except in the moulting season, when a small 
quantity may be fed each day, as hempseed 
is very fattening, and when ied in excess bad 
results may follow. Do not feed wheat too 
liberally, and always mixed with other 
seeds, using the hard, red wheat and never 
new wheat, as it has a tendency to loosen the 
bowels of the young birds with sometimes 
fatal results. In connection with the feeds, 
the birds should be furnished with ground 



oyster shell for grit, also a liberal supply of 
salt and small bits of charcoal and gravel. 
The salt is necessary to keep them in good 
health. These substances may be kept in 
small boxes around the house where the birds 
can have free access to them. 

"A generous supply of pure water should 
be kept before them at all times near the 
feeding trough, and should be supplied each 
morning before feeding, that the old birds may 
have access to it immediately after feeding, 
before taking the feed to their young. 

"In stocking the houses, always avoid 
using common breeders, as the results will be 
disappointing. They are not prolific and are 
more liable to produce dark squabs, which 
always bring the lowest price in market, and 
do not feed the young as well as the full 
bloods. The best all-round birds for squab 
raising are the straight Homers, as they are 
the most active, good workers, quiet disposition, 
and the best of feeders. 

"The Runt is the largest of pigeons, but a 
very slow worker, seldom producing more 
than four pairs of squabs per year. It 
makes a good cross with Homer and Dragoon, 
but even then will not produce as many birds 
as either of the others alone. 

"The squabs are dressed for market once 
a week, on regular shipping days. They are 
dressed just before they are large enough to 
leave the nests, and when they are full- 
feathered, and should weigh at this time 
eight pounds per dozen, this size commanding 
the highest price, the prices falling off very 
fast as the size drops from this weight. The 
squabs should be dressed with empty crops. 
They may be caught in the earlv morning 
before feeding, and dressed, or caught the 
evening before, after the old birds have fed 
them for the night, and kept in hampers until 
morning, when their crops will be just in the 
right condition. 

"After the young birds are two or three 
weeks old, the_ old birds build another nest 
and begin to sit again, the male bird taking 
most of the care of the young until they are 
ready to dress; hence the importance of 
supplying two nests for each pair. Thus a 
good pair of working birds have a pair of 
young and a pair of eggs a large portion of the 
time. 

"During the summer months the birds 
should be furnished with a shallow tub of 
water in which to take a bath, two or three 
times per week, which will help them to keep 
free of vermin. These tubs should be 
emptied after they have bathed, as thev 
should not be allowed to drink the water in 
which they have bathed. 

"With good care, properly constructed 
houses, wholesome food, never sour or tainted, 
very little disease should be encountered. 
Prevention is better and more easily ad- 
ministered than cure. Some of these are dry 
houses, pure water, reerularitv in feeding and 
cleanliness. The water buckets should be 
washed out frequently with creoline water. 



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127 



made by adding a teaspoonful of creoline to 
one quart of water. This will kill any disease 
germs that may be present, and is a good 
disinfectant. 

"Give good care, not neglecting the small 
things, as it is the multitude of these wherein 
the profit lies. 

"The demand for squabs is constantly 
increasing and any one entering into this 
business and willing to give it the attention 
it requires will always find a profit on the 
right side of the ledger. But remember this 
profit will be according to the care and 
intelligence put into the business." 

NEW YORK MARKET. The following is 
taken from the New York World, an article 
on squabs, published in August, 1904: 

Squab-Raising as a Fine Art. — Game Laws 
Make Propagation of this Small Bird a 
Remunerative Business. — Palates Demand Sub- 
stitute for Quail and Other Morsels that 
Statutes Forbid. — Few persons, even among 
the devotees of late suppers in New York's 
high-priced restaurants, in looking over their 
elaborate menus and selecting, say, a squab 
on toast, realize what a tremendous industry 
the Broadway taste for a large cold bottle 
and a small hot bird has developed in the 
United States in recent years. 

The industry may, indeed, be considered 
in itself in a squab state, but such has become 
the after-theatre demand for the tasty little 
birds that many business men have turned 
from less lucrative pursuits to devote their 
energies to their raising. 

It would be impossible to state precisely 
how many squabs are annually bred in the 
United States, but it is estimated that 
hundreds of thousands reach the tables and 
tickle the palates of luxury-loving and 
extravagant people. 

The best of judgment in regard to quality 
and quantity of feed is essential, cracked corn 
and red wheat being the staple food. Kaffir 
corn, Canada peas, buckwheat and millet 
comprise about 20 per cent of the food in 
winter, and in the summer less corn but more 
wheat. Grit and salt are before the birds 
always. 

At the age of four weeks the squabs are 
ready for market and are deliciously tender, 
as they have never learned to fly, and their 
muscles have not had the hardening influence 
of exercise. The killers now get busy. With 
a slip-noose around the feet, and wings locked 
on the back, the squabs are suspended from 
a rack. A killing knife is inserted well into 
the mouth and a quick, deep slash made at 
the back of the throat, allowing the bird to 
bleed freely. 

An expert can kill and rough pick about 
four birds before they get cold. The squabs 
are next dropped into a galvanized iron tub, 
through which a constant stream of water 
flows, which cools the birds. Then a small 
hose nozzle is inserted in the mouth and water 
allowed to fill the crop, after which it is with- 



drawn and a quick pressure forces everything 
out. A second use of the hose thoroughly 
cleanses the crop. Two more immersions 
in iced water make the birds ready for local 
shipment. 

In the Lenten season commission houses 
buy and ice thousands of dozens of squabs 
for winter trade. That is also the time squab 
raisers select and save the best stock for 
breeders. 

Many of the live birds, especially the 
Homers and red Carneaux, cost from $2.50 
to $6 per pair. 

Prices for squab in New York City run from 
$4 per dozen in the early season to $5.50 aitt 
$6 in the winter. 

TWO YEARS' EXPERIENCE WITH OUR 
BIRDS. Will you kindly send us price-list 
and such other printed matter as you have 
issued within the past year? You will 
remember we bought six pairs of you one year 
ago last July. We have about 124 now and 
are disposing of all the squabs we can raise 
at three dollars per dozen. All of our birds 
are not laying yet but will soon mature. We 
have lost several when they were young birds, 
then we had some stolen (one of which came 
back). One bird had a peculiar substance 
form around the outside under the bill. Will 
you tell us if this was canker? We disposed 
of the bird at once. We did not try to treat 
it at all. The people here know very little 
about fine squab, but I believe the market 
is_ growing better right along. Feed is much 
higher here than in the East. We have to 
pay $1.75 per 100 for cracked corn, $2.15 for 
red wheat, $1.75 for Kaffir corn and about 
$5 forhempseed, so that $3 per dozen does 
not bring in a very large profit. Would you 
advise our raising the price? We hope to 
send you another order shortly. We have 
not tried to use the manure at all. We have 
had no trouble with our birds as to vermin. 
They seem to keep entirely free from it. — 
Mrs. H. D., State of Washington. 

TO MONTANA IN GOOD ORDER. I 

received the crate of pigeons yesterday. 
They were all alive and in good health. — 
J. F., Montana. 

FINDS OUR BIRDS FAST BREEDERS. 
On September 16, 1902, I ordered six pairs 
Extra from you and now (August 30, 1904) 
have about two hundred old pigeons and 
squabs together, and will want to begir 
shipping a few before long. Wish you 
would please give me the names of a lot of 
desirable squab buyers in New York and 
other nearby cities. Do you think prices 
will be better later on in the fall, and which 
is the best way to ship them, dead or alive? 
Can I get shipping crates alreadv made? 
If so, where, and at what price? Thanking 
you in advance for this information.— 
W. E. H„ North Carolina. 



128 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



HAD NO TROUBLE RAISING THEM. 
Last spring, in April, I think, we bought 
twelve pairs Extra for thirty dollars of you. 
At present we have eighty-five in all, or about 
sixty young birds that we have raised our- 
selves. We would not think of selling them 
as we have had very good success and are 
much interested in the business, but through 
sickness I lost my former position in this 
village and have now secured a permanent 
one in Chicago, and expect to move there in 
a few weeks. Expect to 'ocate right in the 
city and consequently will have no facilities 
for keeping the pigeons, and so am anxious 
to sell. The birds are as healthy as when 
we received them, as we have followed very 
carefully the rules laid down, in caring for 
them, and have never seen any signs of 
disease among them. Have lost only com- 
paratively few, and those were small ones 
which were neglected by mother birds, or by 
some accident. Quite a large number ot 
our young birds have mated and have bred 
the latter part of the winter. — R. F. G., 
Michigan. 

GETTING SLX DOLLARS A DOZEN. Two 

of the six pairs have now hatched out three 
squabs, two on February 4 and one on February 
7 (the other egg evidently was chilled by the 
extreme cold weather). The market price in 
Newark is six dollars a dozen, and we have 
contracted to sell these three squabs at that 
price. They are fat and very satisfactory. 
We are very much encouraged and wish to 
increase our flock. — F. C, New Jersey. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MARKETS. 

I received your Manual and have read it 
through very carefully. I have found that 
it tells the very truth. I was in Washington 
Market and there they told me just the same. 
They will take all the squabs I can give them. 
I think I will give you an order next month 
for 48 pairs Homers and one gross nappies. — 
H. T., New York. 

ATTRACT ADMIRATION IN CALIFORNIA. 

Birds arrived on the 11th safe and in first- 
class condition for the length of their trip. 
I am well satisfied with the birds and expect 
to give you an order for more before long. 
Every one that has seen them think c they 
are fine. — E. J., California. 

OUR METHODS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 

Enclosed find one dollar for which please send 
me a copy of National Standard Squab Book. 
Perhaps it may interest you to know that 
this is to assist in the raising of squabs in 
South Africa. — L. E. D., Pennsylvania. 

YOUNGSTERS ARE BEAUTIES. I have 

fifty or more pure Homers from the origina'i 
old birds purchased from your concern. 
These youngsters are beauties between the 
apes of six months and one year. — B. R. D., 
Long Island. 



IN PERFECT CONDITION. My motlier 
bought one dozen pairs of your birds a year 
ago and now has about sixty in flock. They 
have been well cared for and are in perfect 
condition. — T. A. B., Kentucky. 

A NEWS-AGENT'S SHE LINE. I have 

been doing a little business that 1 did not 
have time to tell you about in my last letter. 
I have boys in several of the towns around 
here to get squabs for me and I have made 
arrangements with the above firm to deliver 
those that I don't sell myself, on commission. 
The hotel has an order for 150 per week. 
Besides this order I sell to several restaurants 
and let the market deliver to the houses. I 
am the only one here who buys squabs to any 
extent, and average 200 to 300 per week. I 
make from $5 to $7.50 each week this way, 
besides what I make on .he train. How is 
that for a news-agent running a train every 
day from 11 p.m. to 1.15 a.m.? — B. D., 
Texas. 

HAS OVERSOLD HIS SQUAB CAPACITY. 

Could you supply me with two dozen first- 
class squabs for shipment from Wooster on 
or about December 22? I have an order for 
that amount, and while the birds I purchased 
from you are doing fine, I will not have enough. ' 
Have orders for breeders and squabs enough 
to keep the flock working overtime until 
spring, at which time I expect to enlarge my 
plant to at least 500 pairs. I could of course, 
fill this small order from nearby markets, 
but Homers are Homers, and I don't care to 
depreciate the value of my flock by shipping 
inferior squabs. — C. L. Z., Ohio. 

THE MAN HE WORKS FOR IS MAKING 
MONEY WITH OUR BHLDS. I see in the 
Poultry Keeper that you offer a squab book 
free, so I would like to have one, for I have 
squabs myself and I would like to learn how 
to raise them. I am only a boy and I am 
working for Mr. Fairbanks on his farm. He 
told me that I could write to you and ask 
you for a book. I know the chicken business 
very well, but not the squab business. Mr. 
Fairbanks bought pigeons from you last year 
(eighty pairs Extra shipped August 4, 1902J 
and he is doing fine with them, so good-bye 
and don't forget the address. That penny 
is for a stamp, and the other stamp is for the 
letter. — W. H., Missouri. 

A LONG SHIPMENT IN GOOD ORDER. 

Your two letters dated January 27 were 
received yesterday, February 1. I went to 
the express office early this morning and 
found the pigeons had arrived in the night. 
The birds are all alive and in fine condition 
but two, one of which was bruised and I 
fear its wing is broken. I thank you for 
the extra two pairs and for the crates. I 
have a fine new squab house built according 
to your plans, only the flying pen runs up to 
the top of the roof, which I think a better 



SUPPLEMENT 



129 



plan for this damp climate. I may send for 
one or two dozen pairs more by spring.— Mrs. 
E. N., State of Washington. 

A PERFECT SHIPMENT OF HOMERS 
TO FRANCE. The pigeons arrived this day 
in perfect condition, but 1 am sorry to say I 
have neither the nappies nor the bases. I 
duly received your letter of December 16 
which I answered at once. I have this day 
written to Puritan Line of steamship asking 
for information concerning the non-arrival 
of the nappies. — G. D., France (Europe). 

DOING WELL. The pigeons purchased 
of you last fall are doing well. Am in im- 
mediate need of more wooden nappies. — F. 
C. J., Massachusetts. 

GOT ONLY TEN CENTS EACH FOR 
SQUABS BUT MADE MONEY. I built two 
rustic seats for a neighbor for three pairs 
of Homer pigeons, and put them in a pen 
eight by eight feet. They increased at about 
a pair of squabs a month. We turned the 
young ones out as soon as they were able to 
fly. We soon had a flock of pigeons of about 
fifty or seventy-five. Suddenly we found 
that we could sell the young ones for ten 
cents apiece and the butcher took them off 
the nest for us. We killed the three original 
pairs as we did not want any in coops. I 
built a pigeon house sixteen feet high and 
ten feet square on the ground, two stories. 
The birds come in at the top and nest where 
they please. I took up a homestead seventy 
miles north. On this my w'hole family lived 
for most of the time. While we were away 
from this place, the butcher came regularly 
and took away the squabs and left the money 
or his account with a neighbor. We never 
kept any account of the profit of these splen- 
did birds except last year, when the profit 
was $34.50, and the feed would not amount 
to a dollar, as they fly out and rustle their 
own feed. My wife feeds them a little to 
make them friendly. I have a large wagon 
shed and they used to nest in this. I shot 
some of them and they have never bothered 
me there now for two years. They are wise 
and I think they can talk. As a comparison 
of profit between chickens and squabs, we 
had a coop of chickens that required con- 
stant care. After deducting SI 9 for chicken 
feed, the profit on them was $33 ; The 
chicken coop and corral are quite a distance 
from the pigeon house and the pigeons never 
feed with them. — W. S. M., California. 

NEVER LOST A BIRD BY SICKNESS. 
In June, 1902 I got twenty-four pairs of 
you, paying sixty dollars for them. I have 
never lost a bird by sickness. I killed one. 
He was ailing and did not look well, so I 
killed him. This was three or four months 
after I got the birds. Right off after I got 
them I raised twenty-five pairs, then I be- 
ean to kill squabs, as I had no room. I sold 



the first lot of squabs in February, _ 1903, 
and got 25 cents apiece at first (this was 
much too low) , then 1 sold for 30 cents apiece 
until May, 1903. I should say I sold in all 
150 squabs up to May 1. From that time 
on the marketman to whom I was selling 
refused to give me more than 18 cents apiece, 
so I rigged up a new place and put forty 
pairs in there, then 1 sold a few more. Since 
then to now (November, 1903) have sold 
ab-iut 60 to 75 squabs. I have sold only 
squabs, but the other day I sold six pairs of 
breeders for two dollars a pair. All the 24 
original pairs I got of you have kept working. 
I have three or four pairs which have made 
a nest almost every month since I have had 
them. They had eleven nests, others four 
or five nests a pair. I have eighty-eight 
pairs of breeders now. I have got confi- 
dence now to go ahead and am going to start 
a large plant in the country and will buy 
some more birds of you. — H. C. , Massachusetts. 

A YOUNG WOMAN'S SUCCESS. A year 
ago last July I received from you one-half 
dozen pairs and paid you $15. I have tried 
to take good care of them and they have 
increased till now I have some one hundred 
young birds. I did not try to sell any of them 
as I wanted to let the flock grow. I took good 
care of the young birds mating and so there 
are not any of them that are related to each 
other now that are breeding. I had built for 
them a good warm house according to your 
directions and they have done very welL 
Some few died during this winter, but I think 
they were crowded and so the older ones 
would push the little fellows out of the nest 
and they froze during the night. — Miss E. M. 
C.i Kansas. 

A GOOD HEALTHY FLOCK. I bought 
24 pairs Extra of you a little over a year ago. 
I now have besides the 24 pairs about 40 pairs 
of mated birds, all leg banded. Also I have 
about one hundred young birds and all but 
about thirty of these will be old enough to 
mate by the first of April. All of these are 
leg banded and are good healthy birds in first- 
class condition. — E. A. H., Iowa. 

GOING TO MAKE AN EXHIBIT. My 

birds that I received of you in July and 
August are doing fine, and as there is a poultry 
show here in this city next month, I thought 
perhaps I would show a few of them. Could 

t you give me any pointers on putting them on 

' exhibition? — E. G., Michigan. 

EXPERIENCE DEARLY BOUGHT. You 

may possibly think I am doing considerable 
correspondence without doing much trading, 
but I wish to get your advice in regard to a 
little matter. Last April I purchased seven- 
teen pigeons of a friend of mine for S5.95. I 
knew nothing except what your Manual 
taught me about the business. I purchased 
in the fall of a Westerner what were suppose*' 



130 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



to be twenty pairs of Al Homers, but they 
proved to be a poor mess. The Westerner 
also proved to be a dead beat. The next man 
I tackled was in your State, who shipped me 
twenty-four pairs Homers for $36. Well, at 
present I have fifty-three to fifty-five pairs of 
birds and about thirty-five to forty head of 
young stock. Now I see_ where I am lame, 
and where I made a big mistake in not buying 
your best breeders, if I had only purchased 
one-half the number. I wish to get rid of 
what I have. I have a large house and wish 
to fill it with the best stock obtainable. — M. D., 
New York. 

NEW JERSEY SEES WHAT REALLY 
PLUMP SQUABS ARE. The 400 pairs of 
pigeons I got from you are hale and hearty. 
By actual count I have ninety-eight pairs of 
eggs and squabs, besides the squabs ready to 
kill, which number is, however, very small. 
Taking the lateness of the season when I got 
the birds and the extreme cold we have here, 
I think the outlook all right. What do you 
say? Everybody is stuck on the plumpness 
of the squabs when dead and their bright and 
fine appearance when alive. — J. B., New 
Jersey. 

OUR PROMISES MEAN SOMETHING. 

Thank you for prompt, kind and satisfactory 
way of settlement, in answer to our letter to 
you. If all dealers would as satisfactorily 
adjust claims similar to ours as you have done, 
there would be a much easier feeling among 
purchasers. This action on your part shows 
that your guarantee is just what it says. 
Again thanking you for your business-like 
settlement of our claim. — R. B. M., Pennsyl- 
vania. 

BOUGHT BIRDS THAT NO ONE ELSE 
WANTED AND FOUND THEM INDEED 
CHEAP. About four years ago, my son, now 
16 years old, got the pigeon fever, and I must 
admit I caught it myself. He first put up a 
dry-goods box and bought a few birds. He 
showed so much interest in them I thought 
it would be a good pastime and bought him 
more birds, and erected a house as per en- 
closed sketch. Like most beginners, we 
wanted a variety and we were foolish enough 
to buy them anywhere, and presume we got 
what no one else wanted. We spent quite a 
few dollars and our last purchase was from a 
fellow in Pennsylvania, who had "more than 
he wanted," and we bought them because they 
were cheap, and they were cheap, or I had 
better say they were mighty dear. The 
pigeons never had a nicer home or better feed. 
I try to do right what I undertake, every one 
of our friends said we would succeed, but we 
made a miserable failure indeed. My_ wife 
saw your advertisement, sent for some litera- 
ture we then sent for your squab book, which 
we just received, and read it with considerable 
interest. The fever has slightly returned, not 
as hard as at first, but I honestly believe that 



had I your stock in the first place, we could 
now tell a different tale. After my wife read 
your book, she said, "I believe I can do all 
right with that kind of stock myself.' So I 
have encouraged her, as she feels that it 
would be pastime for our two boys, and I was 
certainly fond of the birds when we had them. 
Send along the nappies and just as soon as we 
can get rid of the truck we have, and straight- 
en house up, we will be ready for the Extra 
Homers. I believe there is a great opportun- 
ity offered in squab raising, and we are going 
to try it. — E. G., New Jersey. 

READ OUR RULES TO THE EXPRESS 
AGENT AND GOT A REBATE OF ONE- 
HALF. The pigeons came to me Monday 
afternoon and seem to be none the worse 
for the long journey. They are beauties 
and I find it almost impossible to keep away 
from their pen, but I suppose the novelty will 
wear away. I should have written yester- 
day, but the express agent had overcharged 
me and I wanted to settle the matter, if pos- 
sible, without bothering you. I am glad to 
say I was able to persuade him he was in the 
wrong, and after reading your card he re- 
funded half my money. Thank you for the 
very prompt attention you gave my order. 
—Mrs. R. B., Florida. 

STRAIGHT BUSINESS METHODS. The 

birds arrived _ (this order was the second 
order from this customer, six months after 
the first order) in good condition, and are 
now housed. The birds look fine. I thank 
you very much for the extra pair, something 
that I did not expect you to do under the 
circumstances, as it was no fault of yours of 
those birds going fight. I also thank you 
for the information and will try and save the 
bird by your method. To get even with you 
I shall show my birds to all and mention 
E. C. Rice. Thanking you again for prompt 
shipment and straight business methods. — 
W. D., Ohio. 

AN OLD CUSTOMER HEARD FROM. 

I am still raising squabs and like my pigeons 
better than ever (this customer has been with 
us going on three years). Am having good 
success raising them all through this awful 
cold weather, and they seem healthier than 
when it is warmer. I enclose check for which 
please send me wooden nappies. _ If you 
have anything new in the way of literature 
kindly send me some, as I want to keep is 
touch with you. Have you supplied _ birds 
to any one around here lately ? _ Our visit to 
your squab plant last summer is pleasantly 
remembered by wife and I. — F. L. B., New 
Jersey. 

NICE BIRDS. The pigeons arrived in fine 
condition and seem to like their new home 
very much. Thank you for selecting me 
such nice birds. Hope the baskets reached 
you safe. — Mrs. J. P. A., Virginia. 



SUPPLEMENT 



131 



BEAUTIFUL BIRDS GOT TO HIM QUICK. 

Birds received yesterday noon, all in fine con- 
dition. Put them in their house last night. 
All took a good bath this morning. I thank 
vou for your promptness and for sending me 
such beautiful birds. I had not expected 
birds so soon, but was ready. — P. M. R., 
Kansas. 

SQUABS SUPERIOR TO POULTRY. I 

am an old pigeon and squab and poultry 
man. I have made money with squabs, and 
I think they are superior to poultry. — H. S., 
Massachusetts. 

FLORIDA PURCHASER DELIGHTED. 

Pigeons arrived O. K. Saturday night. 
I am delighted with them, and as I have fol- 
lowed your instructions as to building house, 
pen and other articles, the birds seem to be 
at home. — M. F. B., Florida. 

THEY ARE BEAUTIES. Received pig- 
eons all O. K. They are beauties and have 
begun to nest. — F. M., Ohio. 

A TEXAS CUSTOMER'S APPRECIA- 
TION. Your second shipment of Homer 
pigeons was received yesterday and, like the 
first, in excellent condition, and I am more 
than pleased with them. Although my deal- 
ings with you, when compared to some of 
your large customers, are rather insignifi- 
cant, I can't allow this opportunity to pass 
without expressing to you my thanks and 
appreciation for your filling of my orders. 
For square dealings, conducted solely along 
sound business lines, you are without a peer 
in the pigeon world today. I most heartily 
recommend you to all. — S. A. F., Texas. 
(The writer of this letter is a well-known 
Texas business man, connected with one of 
the largest corporations in that State.) 

WON SUCCESS ALSO BY DOING AS WE 
DO; NEVER HAD A SICK BIRD. Some 
time ago I bought a dozen pairs of Homer 
pigeons from you and paid $20 for them, and 
I want to get about four or five dozen more 
pair, and would like to know the price you 
ask for them at present, so I can send the 
money at once. I find your book on the 
pigeon industry covers the pigeon business 
in good shape. I have always found when 
you start to make a new pie or cake, follow 
the directions of the people that have made 
a success. Consequently, I have not had a 
sick pigeon since I received them some eight 
months ago. The only difference I made 
was in the house, and in that the only dif- 
ference was not to make it quite as tight as 
they are made in your locality. Hoping to 
hear from you soon. — J. W. C, California. 

ANOTHER WOMAN PLEASED. The 

birds came on the afternoon of the 6th. 
They are all very handsome. Some of them 
are beautiful. You will be surprised to learn 



that in less than 24 hours two pairs were 
nesting. Thev have been very busy all daj 
—Mrs. R. L. U., New York. 

INCREASING FAST. Enclosed find $1.70 
for leg band outfit. I am receiving excel- 
lent results from the birds and they are in« 
creasing so fast that I find it necessary to 
band them. — H. C. K., Maryland. 

OUR HOMERS ADVERTISE THEM- 
SELVES. For the enclosed $15 ship by 
National Express six pairs Homers, equally 
as fine birds as you sent on August 3 last 
year, ten months ago, to Ben Barber of this 
place.— J. B. H., New York. 

MANUAL WORTH FIVE DOLLARS. I 

am in receipt of your National Standard 
Squab Book and am very much interested in 
the work. _ I find that every time I pick it 
up something new seems to appear. In fact, 
the whole subject is covered, so far as I am 
able to judge, and I consider the work well 
worth five dollars instead of your dinky price 
of only one dollar. There is a squab plant 
between here and San Francisco, four thou- 
sand birds. Their output of squabs, twenty 
dozen per week, all go to the Palace Hotel, 
San Francisco. I think prices for squabs 
are lower here than in the East, still I be- 
lieve there is money in it. — J. L. S., California. 

ONE YEAR'S SELECTION. The nuw'^r 
of _ breeders has increased to about f / 
pairs from those I purchased from you aW ♦ 
a year ago (fifteen pairs) and all are go^ 
breeders, as I have been particular to raise 
those from the best breeders only. — H. W, 
C, Michigan. 

BREEDING THROUGH THE WINTER. 

Several months ago I purchased from you a 
number of your best Homers. They have 
been doing fine, breeding right along through 
this severe weather; in fact, my flock has more 
than doubled. — L. Z., Ohio. 

OUR MANUAL OF GREAT HELP TO 
HIM. Some little time ago I sent for your 
National Standard Squab Book and after- 
wards for six dozen of your wood nappies. 
Since then I have been keeping my pigeons 
according to your instructions and with 
great success. I had some fine, pure-bred 
Homers and have been getting squabs at 
four weeks averaging twelve ounces. I have 
had them up to 13>? ounces. You strongly 
urge the adoption of all methods that will 
reduce the time necessary to look after the 
birds, and I heartily agree with you. — C. C. 
C, California. 

FROM A NEW JERSEY CUSTOMER. 

Anything new in the pigeon line? If so. 
send it to me. I am raising lots of squabs. — 
F. L. B., New Jersey. 



132 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



SQUAB BUSINESS A SUCCESS. My 

father is in the squab business in a town in 
this State. His business is a success, but I 
would like to ha.ve him give your birds a 
trial and so have decided to make him a 
present of a dozen. — H. L. T., Iowa. 

GOOD WORDS FROM A COMPETITOR. 

We have associated your splendid achieve- 
ments and capacity with our dogged deter- 
mination to remain in to the death, and by 
elimination have differentiated both of our 
establishments from the pretentious and 
ephemeral plants that come and go. We are 
a long way from feeling otherwise than 
modest, and yet we realize that in about 
eight months we have got a good plant, a 
good stock, a good name and a good trade, 
and do not owe a dollar. All the same, this 
has been regretfully on our sole, unaided 
inexperience, and your skill has been a 
loadstar of hope, suggesting that perhaps 
some day we might hit upon the course 
which you have taken and follow it. If 
this business shall ever be trustified, we 
shall wish to be near you, and in any event 
we have nothing but desire for your con- 
tinued brilliant success, and that we shall 
be worthy compeers. — C. F., New York. 

WONDERFUL FECUNDITY. Here is 

$3.84, for which please send me four dozen 
wood nappies by Barstow's express. My 
pigeons bought of you a year ago are doing 
fine. I bought six pairs of you a year ago and 
have now (July 5, 1904) 175 birds. I had 100 
stolen. But for this misfortune I would now 
have 275. I have 400 or 500 hens as well as 
the pigeons. — N. J. G., Massachusetts. 

RAISED A HUNDRED. Will you send me 
your prices on grain of all kinds? My birds 
are doing fine now. I have about one hundred 
birds raised from the ones I bought of you 
(twelve pairs). As soon as I get started in 
good shape I shall buy more breeders from 
you. I have not sold any yet as I have been 
raising them. — H. A. H., Massachusetts. 

OTHER HOMERS NOT LDXE OURS. I 

enclose my check for $1.50 to pay for leg band 
outfit, and 20 cents additional for postage. 
My birds are continuing to do fine, and I am 
more pleased than ever with them. I was out 
last night calling on a man who claimed to 
have Homers. They looked more like com- 
mon street pigeons than my Homers. All 
these things tend to encourage me, when peo- 
ple can breed such birds profitably. I know 
mine will show up much better. Please give 
me a few names of New York dealers in 
squabs. — W. M. G., New York. 

PERFECTLY SATISFIED. Pardon me 
for not writing before, but I have been away 
from home since the birds came, until within 
a few days. I am perfectly well satisfied with 
the Homera you sent me. They are as fine a 



lot of birds as I could wish to see. Half ol 
them are nesting now and I think that they 
went to work as quickly as could be expected. 
We have taken great pains to make their house 
warm, clean and convenient. I intended to 
order more birds before this time but have 
been unable owing to sickness in my family. 
However, as soon as I get straightened round 
again I intend to order more breeding stock 
and work my flock up to 150 pairs as soon as 
possible.— L. A. C, New Jersey. 

ENCOURAGED TO GO ON AFTER EIGHT 
MONTHS' TRIAL. Kindly quote me price on 
leg band outfit. I have lost the circular which 
you sent me. The birds I got from you last 
fall (eight months ago) are doing fine, one pair 
especially, breeding regularly four weeks. I 
hope to have larger quarters and will then 
place order for more birds. — F. J. G., New 
York. 

A PLEASURE TO DO BUSINESS WITH 

US. The two dozen pairs of Extra birds 
ordered Thursday night arrived Saturday 
morning. It certainly is a pleasure to do 
business with you. I am delighted with the 
prompt service you have rendered, for which 
I beg to thank you. The birds are a fine lot, 
and they arrived all in the best condition. I 
am convinced that you make a special thing of 
each order sent you. Will return the b-ookets 
tomorrow. — E. S. F., New York. 

NEVER SEEN BETTER PIGEONS. Sev- 
eral men who have seen my birds have said 
that they have never seen a healthier or finer 
lot of pigeons anywhere. The reason they are 
in such healthy condition is simply this, that 
I have followed your method to the very 
letter, and hence the result. — E. W., New 
York. 

SEVEN MONTHS OF STEADY INCREASE. 

In May last I bought of you a dozen pairs of 
Homer pigeons which proved a great success, 
as I now have thirty or forty young birds fly- 
ing at large. What I want to know is, can I 
let out my old ones ? I have a fine large flying 
pen for them, but if you think they will stay 
with me if I give them their freedom, I would 
like to do so. They have now been in their 
present quarters nearly seven months. — W. L. 
J., Maine. 

THANKS FOR EXTRA HEN. This is to 
advise you that our second order of breeders 
was received on the morning of the 24th in 
prime condition. We wish to thank you both 
for your promptness in filling our order, and 
also for the extra hen sent to replace the sick 
one of our first lot. — W. E. M., Pennsylva-> 

NEVER SEEN LARGER, FINER OR MORE 
VIGOROUS BIRDS. The Homer pigeon? 
ordered from you on Saturday last arriver 
todav, Tuesday, about noon, apparently in 
excellent condition, and I believe I have never 



SUPPLEMENT 



133 



seen larger, finer or more vigorous-looking 
birds. Please accept thanks for ./our careful 
consideration and quick shipment. For 
promptness you are certainly a wonder. — J. 
H. B., Delaware. 

SHIPPED IN EXTRA FINE SHAPE. I 

received from you last evening at 7 o'clock 208 
birds, all alive and so far as 1 can see in good 
condition. This morning one is choked and 
stupid, but I think will come out all right 
later. I am very grateful for the extra fine 
shape in which you crated, labelled and fitted 
them for their journey. I will send back your 
baskets this date all in fine shape. I have 
received everything else ordered, all in fine 
condition. — J. C, Long Island, New York. 

SENT HIS FRIEND TO US. Please send 
me a pass to visit your plant at Melrose 
February 27, and one for Mr. Burrows. Mr. 
Burrows intends buying birds soon. Mine 
purchased last April are doing nicely. — E. L. 
S., Boston. 

HE IS RECOMMENDING OUR BIRDS. 

Enclosed you will find a money order for 
which please send me wooden nappies. I 
would like to have them as soon as possible 
for my birds are beginning to lay. I was over 
to your pigeon plant in Melrose and bought 
a few pairs and I think that they are the real 
stuff. They are doing fine. Please send me a 
pass for two, as I would like to visit your plant 
again, and I am recommending your birds. — 
A. L. R., Massachusetts. 

STARTED SMALL AND IS NOW CON- 
VINCED. Please give me your best price on 
100 pairs, giving an estimate of the weight 
and express charges on same. My birds are 
doing finely. All young birds are larger than 
the parent birds and workers. — G. C. D., 
Michigan. 

THE CHILDREN ARE BETTER THAN 
THEIR PARENTS. I have forty-eight birds 
raised from three pairs I bought of you, far 
ahead in looks and activity of those you 
sent me. — Mrs. C. L. P., Connecticut. 

HAS RAISED SQUABS TEN YEARS. I 

have received your Manual and it is beyond 
my expectations. I have raised squabs for 
about ten years from common pigeons. — J. H. 
M., Pennsylvania. 

EXPERIMENT A SUCCESS. My husband 
is going into the business. He bought some 
Homers of you last summer and intends buying 
more. — Mrs. G. W. P., Massachusetts. 

THEY GROW UP IN INDIANA ALL RIGHT 

I now (December 1, 1903) have over eighty 
Homers from the eight pairs I purchased from 
you last spring. They are all in the very best 
of condition. — R. T. M., Indiana. 



IN FINE SHAPE ALL THE WAY TO 
OREGON. I write you to acknowledge the 
receipt of the birds. They arrived on "the 
morning of November 18 and were turned into 
their new quarters on the 19th, and I guess 
they were very glad to get out of the baskets 
and stretch their wings which they did in great 
shape and a number of them took a bath as 
soon as it was presented to them. They all 
seem to be in fine condition after their long 
journey. — H. J. T., Oregon. 

GOOD RESULTS IN SIX WEEKS. By 

actual count I find we have the following 
results today, six weeks after the arrival of the 
pigeons: Forty-two pairs of squabs and sixty- 
seven pairs of eggs in the process of being 
hatched. — I. B., New Jersey. 

VERIFIED STATEMENTS AS TO COST 
OF FEED. My little experience justifies 
the statement of your book as to cost of 
feed. If you will answer my query as to 
capacity of my house 1 shall greatly appre- 
ciate the courtesy. — F. B. S., Oregon. 

COMMON PIGEONS DO NOT PAY FOR 
KEEP. I have studied squabs for two years 
and have had good luck with them. I have 
read your book and think it is good. If I 
had a price list I would get some Homers. 
I have always had good luck, but common 
pigeons do not pay for the keeping. — H. K., 
Michigan. 

AN ALABAMA BOY PLEASED. The 

birds arrived safely on the 24th and in good 
condition. We think they are a very nice 
lot of birds. As I am a boy of only fifteen 
years, I expect to follow your advice given 
in your magazines, and would appreciate 
any further advice you could offer me. As 
I have a little more money on hand, I may 
order some more birds soon. Thank you 
for your prompt delivery. — W. L., Alabama. 

THREE HUNDRED BIRDS RAISED IN 
LESS THAN ONE YEAR FROM THIRTY- 
SIX PAIRS. Our birds shipped by you 
February 12, 1903 (thirty-six pairs), have 
done very well. We have now (January 12, 
1904), over three hundred and they are lay- 
ing and hatching all the time. We are going 
to buy some more before very long and 
move our plant out onto our thirty-acre 
farm. I think we will do some more busi- 
ness with you. Please give us the name 
and address of the people who buy pigeon 
manure. We have some to sell. — S. M. M., 
Indiana. 

FIVE DOLLARS A DOZEN FOR THE 
SQUABS PROVE THE QUALITY OF OUR 
HOMERS. I wrote ycu the first of the 
week for price of fifty pairs of Homers ready 
for hatching. Not receiving any answer, 
I think you did not get the letter. Please 
give me figures by return mail, and if you 



134 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



can ship at once. The Homers _ I bought 
from you two years ago are doing finely, 
also those I hatched from them. They are 
very large and handsome. Shipped some 
dressed squabs last week to New York and 
they returned five dollars per dozen, which 
proves the quality of the goods. Hoping 
to hear from you soon. — A. C, Connecticut. 

OUR STOCK THE BEST TO BE HAD. 

I find I will not be in the market for more 
birds as expected, as my flock is in good shape, 
but have recommended your company to 
several prospective purchasers. Do not 
know, however, what result this will bring. 
I am glad to say that I have every confidence 
in your dealings, as I am much pleased with 
every article I have purchased from you 
from time to time and will not hesitate a 
moment to buy stock from you if in market 
for same, as I believe your stock to be the 
best that can be had. — O. C. S., Michigan. 

IN FINE CONDITION, AND PERFECT 
BEAUTIES. Please excuse delay in ac- 
knowledging receipt of birds. They were 
delivered to me in fine condition and cer- 
tainly are perfect beauties. They seem to 
enjoy their new quarters. I must congrat- 
ulate you on your promptness in shipping 
orders. With me it was the quickest move 
I have ever seen, considering the distance. 
The same day I ordered poultry from a 
breeder in Jamesbury, New Jersey. Both 
letters were posted late Friday afternoon. 
The pigeons arrived Monday morning early, 
while the poultry did not arrive until the 
following Thursday. I was much surprised 
at the difference. — J. H. B., New Jersey. 

KINDNESS TO A BEGINNER. We 

thank you for the kindness you have shown 
us in our inexperience. — F. H. W., New 
Hampshire. 

PLEASED WITH HER INVESTMENT. 

Last April I purchased of you some Homers. 
I have had good success with them as far 
as the laying and hatching are concerned, 
and am very much pleased with my invest- 
ment. — Mrs. L. G. S., Ohio. 

STOCK TO BE RELIED ON. In talking 
with my friend, Mr. C. F. Peters, about go- 
ing into the poultry business, he advised me 
to write to you about the squab business, 
saying he knew you would do as well if not 
better by me than anybody, and I could 
rely on your stock and what you might wish 
to tell me about the business. I have read 
your works and think you have the right 
idea about the business. — C. A. G., Illinois. 

THREE WEEKS OLD AND WEIGHED 
OVER A POUND. We weighed one of the 
first pair of squabs from the birds bought 
of you when it was just three weeks old, 
and it held the scales at just seventeen (17) 



ounces. Pretty good, was it not? — Mrs. 
E. K., State of Washington. 

A FINE LOT OF BIRDS. The last lot of 
pigeons which I ordered from you _ were re- 
ceived Monday morning in splendid condi- 
tion after their long journey, and are a fine 
lot of birds. I will send you in a few days • 
another remittance, in addition to the one 
already sent. — J. L. Louisiana. 

SEES THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWL- 
EDGE AND GOOD STOCK. Just read your 
book and saw how foolish we were. We had 
seven dozen mixed birds, some common and 
some Fantails, and some Runts and Homers. 
We were ignorant about the kind_, and only 
had about eight or ten squabs in six months, 
so we sold them to the first person that 
came. Now I would like to start fresh again 
and get about a dozen pairs of your Homers. 
What would the express be to Alameda? 
Kindly let me hear from vou immediately, 
as I would like to have some pigeons. — Mrs. 
M., California. 

DOING BETTER AS HE GETS EX- 
PERIENCE. Enclosed find post-office money 
order for which please send me leg band 
outfit and extra tubing. From the twelve 
pairs of Homer pigeons I bought from you 
about May 1, 1903, nine months ago, I have 
seventy- two birds all told, old and young, 
and ten pairs setting. According to this 
rate I ought to have, I think, at least sixty 
pairs by May 1. That will be an increase 
of five to one. I have lost so far four young 
birds and four settings of eggs, but I hope 
to lessen this this year. — E. B. G., North 
Carolina. 

PREFERS OUR HOMERS. I am very 
proud of my birds, they are so tame and 
pretty. I can get Homers around here, 
but I would rather have them all from your 
place. Please send at your earliest con- 
venience. — Miss B. D., New Jersey. 

NO MORE CHEAP BIRDS FOR HIM. 
Herewith I enclose one dollar's worth of 
stamps, being in payment for one of your 
Manuals. _ In May last I started in the 
squab-raising business and never owned ' a 
pigeon before. I naturally have made 
some few mistakes, both in building a house 
and selecting birds._ I am going to sell out 
if possible, if not incurring too much loss, 
which, being a poor man, I cannot afford 
to do, and if successful I shall buy land and 
build, and also buy the best birds I can find, 
even though it be only a few pairs. I now 
have 150 pairs all mated, working nicely, 
stove in house, eight-pound squabs, seventy- 
five cents per pair Philadelphia market. As 
I said before, I am poor, but not a cheap 
man. I want the best, which of course after 
giving proper food and attention, I should 
be rewarded both in stock of squabs and 
prices. — S. B., Pennsylvania. 



SUPPLEMENT 



135 



A FRIEND'S FLOCK DOING WELL. 

Enclosed tind express money order. I am 
sure you will send the best birds. I find 
the Manual very instructive. Mr. Connelley's 
flock which he obtained of you is doing fine. 
— C. L., South Carolina. 

STOCK THE FINEST HE HAS SEEN. 
My home is in Buffalo, N. Y. I am stopping 
in this city (Atlanta, Ga.), temporarily. It 
is my intention to establish a squab plant in 
the vicinity of Buffalo. I have been to 

look over Mr. s plant, which is very fine, 

and the stock is the finest I have seen. He 
informed me that you furnished the stock 
(five hundred pairs), an entire equipment. 
My present intention is to start with not 
less than 300 pairs. — P. H., Georgia. 

IN FIRST-CLASS CONDITION. The birds 
arrived yesterday in first-class condition, all 
alive. Thanks for the extras. — R. W. B., 
State of Washington. 

A NOVA SCOTIA CUSTOMER. The 

Homers arrived safely today, and I am very 
much pleased with them. They are a fine lot 
of birds. — J. H., Nova Scotia. 

KIND AND CORDIAL METHODS. Many 
thanks for your kind and cordial methods of 
doing business, and if I find that the conditions 
here are suitable to squab raising, I shall be 
wanting some more stock before long. So far 
I am very well pleased, and the birds you sent 
are certainly well worth the prices you quote. — 
D.T.S., Kentucky. 

CHICKEN INDUSTRY NEEDS A MAN- 
UAL LHCE OURS. The Manual sent me is the 
most complete and concise work on the sub- 
ject of squab raising I have ever read. I 
doubt whether there is a book written on any 
subject of its kind so complete in all its detail. 
I would be willing to give most anything for a 
like account of how to succeed with chickens. 
If you know of any such work I would con- 
sider it a personal favor if you would kindly 
send me the title and where to get it. I am 
glad to have in my possession such a book as 
the Manual, it is a pleasure to read it. Of 
course it's business, but I think it wonderful 
that you should give such valuable informa- 
tion to the public. — J. H. J., Pennsylvania. 

SAME AS YOU SENT BEFORE. Enclosed 
you will find $15 for six pairs of your best 
breeding Homers that breed white squabs, 
the same as you sent before. — F. P., Virginia. 

FROM FIFTY DOLLARS TO FIFTY CENTS. 
Please send to us as soon as possible 48 nap- 
pies. We shall want 48 of your Extra Homers 
as soon as these nappies reach us, and if con- 
ditions prove favorable, hope to buy a thou- 
sand birds. I think there must be money in 
this business. I wrote a squab raiser in Iowa, 
asking if he would show me through his farm. 



and he replied that he would for fifty dollars. 
I enclose fifty cents for a National Standard 
Squab Book, which kindly send me. — A. D.. 
Minnesota. 

MAKING MORE MONEY WITH SQUABS. 

The nappies have not yet come. I have quit 
the railroad and gone into the squab business. 
We are going to send for some of your Homers 
soon and let what we have breed with a few 
additions occasionally until the Homer trade 
gets rooted. I am now making more with 
pigeons than while working for the company, 
or rather, I am making a good living and put- 
ting in a large stock of pigeons. — S. D., Texas. 

OUR CLAIMS PROVEN TO HIS SATIS- 
FACTION. Last February, 1903, I bought 
a small lot of adult Homers from your com- 
pany and am satisfied they are all you claim 
for them. Being desirous of getting along 
faster in the business, I have advertised for 
additional capital in a New York City paper, 
and have had nearly two dozen inquiries about 
the industry. — A. D., New Jersey. 

A HUSBAND WAITS FOR THIS YOUNG 
WOMAN. November, 1902, I bought twelve 
pairs of your Homers; now I'm sorry to say 
I must give up the idea of the squab business, 
and wish to know if you care to buy them and 
what you will pay. I have ninety birds, and 
sold some last summer. I think your birds 
have done very well. I would not have any- 
thing but your Plymouth Rock Homers. — Miss 
E.J. D., New York. 

A TEXAS WOMAN FINDS THEM EASY 
TO RAISE. I have now (January 7, 1904), 
raised one hundred from those I bought of you 
(six pairs Extra sold December 11, 1902.) — 
Mrs. R.M.H., Texas. 

ONE HUNDRED PAIRS IN MONTANA'S 
COLD WEATHER. The squab breeders 
arrived here all safe and well in spite of the 
cold snap Monday noon. We are much 
pleased with the flock. Number is correct, 
208 birds (only two casualties). They cer- 
tainly are having a fine initiation to Montana 
weather. The mercury stood thirty-two 
degrees below zero last night and has been 
below since their arrival. — W. H., Montana. 

DEALERS ADVISE HIM TO BUY OF US. 

About a year ago I bought your Manual and 
plans for a squab house. I have been study- 
ing the book thoroughly and find it very 
complete in every detail and "out of sight" as 
compared with others I have seen. I am 
compelled to move to Southern California and 
will try squab raising. What discount do 
you give on 300 pairs of your best birds? I 
nave been somewhat used to stock raising, 
including poultrv. I am advised by dealers in 
Los Angeles to get my stock from Boston, even 
at the expense necessary. While no names 
were mentioned, I presume they referred to 



136 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



you.— -W. W. D., Minnesota. (Correct. We 
have shipped to California within the past few 
years thousands of pairs of Homers and at all 
places in California where squabs are sold and 
eaten, the product of our Homers is wanted 
because they are the best in the market there.) 

USES THE HEALTH GRIT. Please send 
me by American express two hundred pounds 
Health Grit, for which find $2 enclosed. My 
pigeons are doing finely and I now have 75 in 
addition to my original lot, and the young 
ones are hatching out squabs. — W. L. J., 
Maine. 

HE IS PLEASED WITH US AND OUR 
BIRDS. I am so much pleased with the birds 
I got from you and the bright prospects of the 
squab industry, that 1 feel interested in getting 
some of my friends started in squab raising. 
The last shipment of squab breeders reached 
me in splendid condition and are very fine 
birds. 1 am very much pleased with the selec- 
tion and your good judgment. All your stock, 
birds, supplies and dealings with me in th» vast 
have been so satisfactory that you may expect 
more orders from me and my friends in the 
future. I have raised and sold pigeons and 
pet stock for years, so of course am capable of 
judging good stock when I see it, and I con- 
sider your squab-breeding Homers the best that 
can be bred for successful market squab breed- 
ing. Trusting that you may continue to have 
much success in this worthy business. — L. E. 
Virginia. 

THEY EAT OUT OF HER HAND. I en- 
close money order for more nappies. I like 
my pigeons better every day. They are so 
tame now they will eat out of my hand. — Miss 
L. V. P., New York. 

THREE MONTHS' WORK. We are going 
to _ move this week to California. The six 
pairs I bought of you in March, three months 
ago, have all nested and done fine, and I have 
raised 24 young birds from them. — Mrs. H. B. 
S., Massachusetts. 

ALL THE WAY TO VANCOUVER. I 

received my birds on June 8, and all of them 
were in fine condition except one hen, which 
seems to be a little stupid. My express 
charges were all right. Thank you for the 
free birds. Hoping that I will be able to serrtl 
for a few more soon. — G. A. L., Vancouver. 

HAS SEEN HOW OUR BIRDS WORK IN 
HIS TOWN. I am sending you herewith 
money order for $31.50. for which please send 
me 12 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers, and two of your drinkers, same as you 
sent me before. I have seen two different lots 
of vour Homers in this citv, and although I 
have some good ones that are rapid breeders 
and raise large squabs, I am so much im- 

Sressed with the work that Mr. Barrett's Homers 
purchased of you) are doing, that I have gone 



to work and fitted up two more breeding pens 
to accommodate some of your stock. — W. H. 
M., Massachusetts. 

ALL AT WORK IN SIX WEEKS. Who- 
ever took the pair of pigeons from the basket 
must have been an expert in determining the 
sex and mates, as every one of them, that is, 
twelve females, have eggs and are setting. 
Don't you think this is strong evidence that 
two pigeons never were taken from the basket 
during transit ? I will make no claim against 
the express company. I feel verv positive 
they are not at fault. The shipment reached 
me six weeks ago. — C. S., Ohio. 

INCREASING HIS FLOCK. The twelve 
pairs of breeders that I bought from you last 
fall are beginning to lav very nicelv and I am 
very much pleased with them. Please send 
me six more pairs, in payment for which you 
will find money order enclosed. — H. W., New 
York. 

A LARGE SHIPMENT TO CALIFORNIA. 

I received all the birds (312 pairs) without one 
being dead, and the lot seems to be in splendid 
condition, on the whole, after such a long 
journey. It seems wonderful to me that none 
were dead with all the rough handling they 
must have received on. such a long journey. 
The birds are beauties and attract a great deal 
of attention. — P. W., California. 

QUICK WORK HATCHING. The Homers 
I got of you are doing finely; received May 1, 
five weeks ago, and I have a dozen or more 
squabs from the dozen pairs. — J. F., New 
Jersey. 

FINEST HE EVER SAW. The Extra 
Homers arrived today in first-class shape, and 
are the finest I ever saw. — L. C. Y., Maryland. 

UNABLE TO FILL ORDERS FOR HOM- 
ERS. The writer has been engaged in selling 
Homer pigeons for squab breeders for the past 
several months, but my stock is now almost 
completely exhausted and I am unable to fill 
my orders. Have just received an order from 
Hot Springs, Arkansas, but as I make it a rule 
not to attempt to fill orders for birds which I 
do not have in my own lofts, have declined 
the order and referred the customer to your 
company. He wants fifty pairs, and would 
suggest that you get into correspondence with 
him. Trusting that you may be able to get 
the business.— G. C. S., Ohio. 

OUR PIGEONS AT THIS LARGE SHOW 
IN 1906 MADE A CLEAN SWEEP OF THE 
PRIZES. Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, 
Mass. Gentlemen: Pardon the delay in not 
answering about the safe arrival of the birds. 
The show was a big success and over nine 
hundred entries were registered. I had_ a 
nice coop fixed up and brought the entire 
flock of fourteen birds. They behaved fine 



SUPPLEMENT 



137 



and did not mind the close confinement after 
the first day. One of the pairs laid two eggs. 
My flock took rirst, second, third and fourth 
prizes, also one for the largest flock of one 
exhibitor (which was $3), and the white birds 
took first prize over three other pairs. The 
judge was high in praise of the birds and their 
markings. 1 understand you have sold some 
birds to Mr. Marsh, who has heard about my 
success and is to start with one hundred pairs. 
The pigeons sold several months ago to a 
doctor of Warren were through _ my recom- 
mendation. Thanking you again for past 
favors, I remain, etc. — Mrs. R. C, Pennsyl- 
vania. (The pigeon exhibition to which she 
refers was held in February, 1906.) 

OFFERED FIVE DOLLARS A PAIR FOR 
THE BIRDS. Pigeons arrived August 29 
in good condition and I thank you. I am 
well pleased with the birds; they are the finest 
flock I have ever seen. The teamster who 
brought them out from Seattle informs me a. 
man on the way offered him jive dollars a pair 
for the birds. Had I been with him, I surely 
would have taken him up, and made nearly 
$100 by the bargain. You may expect 
another order from me in a month or six 
weeks for one hundred pairs, and then I shall 
have enough breeders to commence with. — 
C. C, State of Washington. 

(We have had quite a number of letters 
similar to this one, and from other informa- 
tion which we have in regard to the Western 
market for breeders, we know it to be a 
remarkable one. Any one who buys our fine 
birds can find a purchaser who is willing to 
pay in many cases much more than the dif- 
ference in express charges. We receive 
numerous requests from wholesalers who wish 
to sell our birds in their territory, but we sell 
all the birds we wish to at retail, to the extent 
of our capacity, at one price to all, and do not 
supply such dealers. We are shipping at 
least one order a day the year round to Cali- 
fornia or the State of Washington.) 

OUR HOMERS ARE PRIZED BY FAN- 
CIERS AS WELL AS SQUAB BREEDERS. 

Our Homers sell on their merits as squab 
breeders, but they are first-class flyers, able 
to win in any company. At the New York 
and Chicago National Pigeon Shows in Janu- 
ary, 1904, in competition with the whole 
country. Homers sold by us and exhibited by 
our customers were the best birds there. In 
awarding the first prize, New York show, class 
of Blue Homer Cocks, the judge said: " Grand 
one; the best bird in the ring today to my way 
of thinking. He is a large, fine-colored Homer 
with almost perfect head, broad shoulders and 
wedge-shaped body, nice eye and fine dark 
cere. This cock also won the cup for best 
Homer shown, and this honor was not new to 
him, as he did the same trick at Lawrence 
earlier in the season." 

The class of Blue Checker Cocks at the New 
York show was the largest. "A finer class of 



Blue Checker Homers we have never seen," 

said the judge. The first prize in this large 
class was awarded a Homer from our coops 
exhibited by one of our customers with the 
following comment by the judge: "Grand- 
bodied, up-standing bird, elegant head and eye, 
with the most perfect cneckering 1 ever saw on 
a Homer, but for being a trifle light (in color) 
on rump he would be hard to find fault with." 

In awarding the first prize in the New York 
show, class of Blue Hens, to a hen sold by us 
and exhibited by one of our customers, the 
judge said: "This class outside of the winner 
was not bang-up % Good blue hens a:e scarce, 
but the first bird is an exception, and probably 
one of the best hens going. She is extra large 
for a hen, almost over the limit in this respect, 
but she is built on the correct lines, very good 
color and smooth type of head. She would 
make a great mate for the first cock." 

In the fall of 1903, one of our customers, 
with a Homer cock bought of us, won first 
prize every time exhibited, also special prize 
fqrbest Homer in the show, every time ex- 
hibited at the pigeon and poultry shows at 
Taunton, Brockton and Hartford. 

THIS COMMISSION FIRM IN NEW YORK 
CITY WANTS ONE THOUSAND DOZEN 
SQUABS DAILY, PAYING FROM $4 TO $6 
A DOZEN FOR SQUABS BRED FROM OUR 
BIRDS. The large commission houses handle 
squabs by hundreds of dozens daily and firm? . 
which are known to furnish squabs of first- 
class size and weight, such as our birds breed,, 
get more orders ^han they can fill. We re- 
ceived the following letter in January, 1904, 
. from a well-known commission firm in New 
York City (whose name and address we give 
to customers who buy breeding stock of us) : 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, Mass.: 
Gentlemen: I am receiving quite a few 
letters from time to time from the different 
customers of yours that are starting in the 
squab trade. I wish if you see or write 
them, that you would advise them as I 
have done, to put themselves in a position 
to ship from 5 to 10 dozen squabs at a time, 
and if they intend to make a business of it, 
they might as well buy enough breeders in 
the start, so as to be able to ship a quantity 
at a time, as these little shipments of one or 
two dozen hardly pay one to handle, the 
expense eating up the commission. I have 
stated to them before, and you can also tell 
them, that the squab trade is in its infancy, 
and will certainly increase from time to 
time, and we are in a position to handle 
daily any part of 1000 dozen squabs, as we 
have a big outlet to place them promptly at 
top prices, with check to balance same day 
goods are received and sold. For the pres- 
ent, and until further notice, we quote you 
market as follows: Squabs weighing ten 
pounds to the dozen, $5.50 per dozen; nine 
pounds, $5.25 per dozen; eight pounds, 
$5 per dozen; seven pounds, $4 per dozen; 
six and one-half pounds, $2.75 per dozen; 



138 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



dark, $2.10 per dozen. Would like to have 
all the squabs you can get. In case you 
have any good customers that are starting 
in, I wish you would send me a complete 
list of that trade, so that I can write to them 
occasionally, and post them on the condition 
of the market. 

To our answer we received the following 
letter from the above firm: 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, Mass.: 

Gentlemen: Your letter of the 1st duly 
received, and I am glad_ to hear from you so 
promptly. I have received quite a number 
of letters from small shippers who, judging 
by the way they write, must be beginners, 
and know but very little of the_ business._ I 
have tried to make things as plain as possible 
to them, and encouraged them all to start 
in and increase the size of their _ purchases 
from you to such an extent that it will pay 
them to ship. Of course we are obliged to 
take these small shipments, and encourage 
them along as much as possible, but very 
often after we have got a man started, he 
would have made a pretty fair shipper, but 
some one gets hold of him in the meantime 
and makes him believe that he can do 
better than we can, which is one reason that 
I object to helping these small shippers along. 
As above stated, as soon as they get started 
they begin switching around, and the man 
who starts them has very little for his trouble 
and pains of putting them in the way of mak- 
ing money. 

I wish if you have any shippers' addresses 
in the West or in Wisconsin (which seems 
to be quite a squab country) and also in 
either Illinois or Minnesota, that you would 
send them to me. They seem to be doing 
pretty well in that section, and are satisfied 
with the fair prices they get from our market, 



on account of the poor prices they get in 
Chicago, or elsewhere nearer home. 

At the present time, squabs are very scarce 
and very high. We are even returning more 
money than the last quotations I sent you, 
in order to get enough birds to supply our 
trade. So if you can put me in the way of 
increasing our squab supply, I would greatly 
appreciate it, and try in some way to recip- 
rocate for same. Thank you for the infor- 
mation you have given me thus far in regard 
to shippers. 

Under date of January 30, 1904, we have 
the following letter from a commission firm 
in St. Louis, showing that the demand in 
that section is becoming extraordinary: 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, Mass.: 

Gentlemen: We are in the market for 
squabs and if you have any customers in 
this vicinity who are seeking a market foi 
their squabs, we would be glad to be placed 
in correspondence with them. We will pay 
the highest market price for them, and feel 
confident that £he service we will render 
your patrons will prove advantageous to 
you, to them and ourselves. Please let us 
hear from you. 

We do not give the addresses of these 
firms, and other good squab buyers, until 
we have sold breeding stock to the cus- 
tomer. Commission men in all the cities' 
are getting letters from curiosity seekers 
who are merely " looking up " squabs and 
to such letters the commission men pay 
scant attention, for lack of time, and as 
there is no money in it for them. Any one 
who doubts the genuineness of the_ letters 
we print should come or send a friend to 
our Boston office to see the originals. 




APPENDIX A 



(Copyright, 1903, by Elmer C. Rice.) 



CALIFORNIA MARKET. The California 
market for squabs is excellent, especially at 
the invalid resorts. In San Francisco it is 
not so good as at the Southern Coast places 
frequented by rich travelers. We print the 
following letter: 

Poultrymen's Union of California, 413 
Front Street, San Francisco (January _ 28, 
1903): "Your valued favor just received 
and in reply would say that usually the 
quotations in the papers are close to being 
correct, but if you desire to call and see us at 
any time, we will give you exact quotations. 
There is always a good market here for large, 
fat squabs. They are readily selling today at 
$3 per dozen." 

SUMMER RESORT MARKETS. The 

pleasure and vacation resorts all over the 
country are good squab markets. Maine 
squab breeders ship to Boston in the winter 
but in the summer they get better prices at 
Bar Harbor and elsewhere along the coast. 
The White Mountain resorts in New Hamp- 
shire are a fine summer market, also the re- 
sorts along the eastern coast of Massachu- 
setts. Newport, in Rhode Island, is a good 
summer squab market. Two or three of our 
customers in the vicinity of Lenox, Mass., 
and in North Carolina and Florida, are quite 
enthusiastic over the splendid market at 
their doors. Wherever the good eaters go, 
winter or summer, there is the demand for 
squabs. 

HOSPITAL TRADE. A woman in the 
State of Washington wrote us that two big 
hospitals in a city near her had offered to 
take all the squabs she could supply. She 
moved out, bought a farm and in January, 
1903, we shipped her four baskets. Under 
date of February 7, she replied: " Please 
pardon my delay in acknowledging the re- 
ceipt of the shipment of fifty pairs Extra 
Mated Homers I ordered from you. I have 
been so busy with them that I have not 
really had time to write. Out of the whole 
lot there was only one dead one, which sur- 
prised us." (As we had shipped two pairs 
more than the order called for, or 52 pairs 
altogether, the customer had no complaint.) 
" The birds are perfect beauties and we are 

greatly pleased with them. They seem to 
ke their new home. Thanking you for 
your kindness and with best wishes." 

The hospital trade in squabs is worth cater- 
ing to, for they are such a delicacy that they 
are greatly esteemed by physicians. There 
may be a suggestion in this for you if you 
dc not care to deal with commission men. 

BRANCHING OUT. We have put some of 
our best birds, in largest orders, for 300 to 1000 
pairs, right into the heart of the squab country 



around Philadelphia, showing that our ideas 
and our birds are all right. On February 9, 
1903, we received the following letter from 
Heacock & Kokanson, architects, of Phila- 
delphia: 

"Enclosed please find 10 cents for a plan of 
your style of squab house. Our client in- 
forms us that you have prints showing the 
details of house, nests, self-feeders, etc. We 
have two clients who have been making some- 
what of a success at this work and are now 
ready to build houses with every essential and 
practical feature necessary to make a success 
on a somewhat larger scale." 

SQUABS IN UTAH. The following letter 
comes to us from James A. Hepburn, Utah, 
dated January 24, 1903 : 

"Enclosed find check for $1.70 for which 
please send me postage paid your leg-band 
outfit. I recently received your book on 
pigeons and although I have been breeding 
Homers for flying for a long time, I learned 
many things of interest to me from the book. 
I intend now to increase my flock and raise 
squabs for the market also. I find I can sell 
all I can supply here to the local markets." 

SQUABS NOT GAME. A correspondent 
writes us that she does not think she can 
market squabs in her State because the game 
laws are so strict. In reply we wish to state 
that squabs are not game, but are a domestic 
product same as chickens, and can be mar- 
keted in any State or Territory at any time of 
the year in any quantity without violating the 
game laws. 

CHICAGO MARKET. The Chicago market 
for squabs is fairly good, but nowhere near 
so good as the markets of New York, Phila- 
delphia and Boston, because the only squabs 
obtainable there in large quantities are the 
inferior squabs of common pigeons. We have 
customers in Illinois who have written us 
that their fat Homer squabs from our birds 
are salable at prices from $1 to $2 in excess of 
the prices quoted by the Chicago commission 
men. The Chicago market is an eager one, 
and the dealers are imploring squab raisers to 
sell, saying they will take all offered. We 
advise our customers in the Middle West to 
sell their squabs to the private trade direct 
over the heads of the Chicago commission men 
•until the latter advance prices. We print 
herewith some letters from Chicago commis- 
sion houses, showing that they want them 
both with the feathers on and off, depending 
on the dealer: 

C. B. Hayden, Jr., & Co., 214 and 216 South 
Water Street, Chicago, Illinois (Jan. 26, 
1903) : "Your favor of the 24th inst. at hand 
and in reply will say, fat dressed squabs bring 



139 




MATING COOPS IN MATING HOUSE. 
We have a thousand mating coops in our plant. This illustration shows how 
they are arranged in a house, several tiers high. 



APPENDIX A 



J41 



$2 to $2.25 per dozen. We handle them in 
any quantities." 

Gallagher Bros., 191 South Water Street, 
Chicago, 111. (Jan. 26, 1903): "We have 
your favor of the 24th to hand and noted. 
In regard to handling squabs will say, we are 
in a position to handle any quantity to good 
advantage. We are now getting fancy squabs 
from Wisconsin, which are selling at $2.50 
per dozen, about seven pounds to the dozen." 

C. H. Weaver & Co., 129 South Water 
Street, Chicago, 111. (Jan. 29, 1903): "Your 
favor of the 27th received. The market on 
squabs is $2.25 per dozen for the weights you 
speak of. We can handle all that you will be 
able to ship us, but would advise making a 
small shipment at first, so that we will get 
an idea of your stock and dressing." 

Theodore C. H. Wegeforth Co., 133 South 
Water Street, Chicago, 111. (Jan. 28, 1903): 
"In reply to your favor requesting us to quote 
you prices on squabs will say that there is a 
very good demand for them on this market at 
present and when fine they will bring from 
$2 to $2.25 per dozen but in order to bring 
these prices, the squabs must be fat and weigh 
on an average about three-quarters of a 
pound each, and for such there is a ready sale. 
If you have any, or receiving, you can safely 
ship all you can get." 

H. R. Waszko, 213 South Water Street, 
Chicago, 111. (Jan. 29, 1903): "In reply to 
your letter of January 27, we wish to say that 
we can handle your squabs, in fact we can 
place any amount at the extreme top market 
price, for we are heavy receivers of dressed 
squabs, especially from South Dakota and 
Wisconsin. Squabs should weigh not less 
than six or seven pounds per dozen. Should 
be dry-picked as the trade that can pay fancy 
prices want them No. 1, and we quote them 
firm at $2.50 per dozen, but they must be 
fancy. We think we can get you still higher 
prices but we can tell from your first shipment 
to us just where we can place them and what 
we can do. See that they are well cooled off 
before shipping. Trusting that you will favor 
us with a good shipment as soon as possible 
and also give us an idea of how many you can 
ship as daily or weekly." 

Peter Britten & Sons, 2 and 4 Fulton Street, 
Chicago, 111. (Jan. 30, 1903): "There is no 
limit to the amount of squabs we can handle, 
as we have inquiries for the same at all times. 
We assure you, and you can rely on us to 
obtain the highest possible price for your 
stock at all times." 

Cougle Brothers, 178 South Water Street, 
Chicago, 111. (Jan. 29, 1903): "Replying to 
your favor of January 27 will say that good 
fat squabs are worth from $2 to $2.50 per 
dozen. We can handle all of that kind you 
can get. The best way to ship them is just to 
pinch their necks, cool thoroughly and pack 
in a box. Do not bleed them nor take the 
feathers off. We hope you can ship us some 
of this kind of squabs as we need them." 

F. W. Melges & Co., 100 South Water 



Street, Chicago, 111. (Jan. 28, 1903'' • "Re- 
plying to your favor of tne 27th in regard to 
squabs we beg to say that there is a wide range 
of prices according to quality. If they are 
fine fat birds we can handle advantageously all 
you can ship us. We shall do all in our power 
to obtain the very top price for same at all 
times." 

A. Booth & Co., 63-65 Lake Street, Chicago, 
111. (Jan. 25, _1903)_: "If squabs are well 
dressed and weigh eight to nine pounds to 
the dozen, we can use them at $2.25 per dozen 
f.o.b. Chicago." 

H. G. Lane, buyer for the Wellington Hotel, 
Wabash Avenue and Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, 111. (Feb. 2, 1903): "In reply to 
yours of January 26 about squabs would say 
that we are buying the large white squab you 
speak of. We have them shipped with the 
feathers on and market price for the best 
squab is $2.75 to $3.00 per dozen." 

William H. Taylor Co., 156 and 158 South 
Water Street, Chicago, 111. (Feb. 4. 1903) : 
"Your letter at hand in regard to squabs. 
Would say we could use all your squabs you 
can ship. We would just as soon have them 
with the feathers on as off. We can offer you 
$2.50 now for good stock. Should at any 
time market do better, we should certainly 
give it to you. Please let us know how soon 
you can ship and how many each week. We 
have the trade for them and can do as well as 
any one for you." 

Herman Weber Co., Inc., Union Hotel and 
Restaurant, 111-117 Randolph Street, Chicago, 
111. (Feb. 3, 1903): "Your favor of the 1st 
to hand. I am buying squabs fresh in the 
market all the time and am paying $3 per 
dozen for same. You can bring in two dozen 
of your squabs and if satisfactory will buy 
same of you right along." 

The letter last quoted above, that from 
Herman Weber, is an indication of what the 
consumer in Chicago is paying for inferior 
squabs. It rests with you whether you will be 
satisfied with breeding a product which com- 
mands a price of $2 to $3 a dozen, o $3 to $6. 
If you put squabs weighing ten pounds a dozen 
and over into the Chicago market, you can get 
from $3 to $6 a dozen. 

NEW YORK MARKET. In the first part 
of January, 1903, we received th following 
letter from the manager of the squab depart- 
ment of a commission house in Washington 
Market, New York city: 

" Your name and address as raisers of 
fancy squabs was given me by Mr. Howes of 
Detroit, Michigan, who was over to your 
place a few days ago. As I have heard of 
your plant before and have tried to get your 
address so as to write to you for squabs, I 
hope this letter will mean some business for 
us bDth. If you have any squabs to ship, I 
would like to get your output, and can use all 
you can ship at full market, and make vou 
prompt returns day received and sold. This 
week I am returning the following prices: 




INTERIOR OF MATING HOUSE. 
This shows mating coops in use in one of our mating houses. This house is 
heated by hot water. 



142 



APPENDIX A 



143 



Squabs weighing ten pounds to dozen and 
up, $4.50 per dozen; eight pounds and up, 
$4: seven pounds and up, $3.50; six and one- 
half pounds and up, $2.60; dark, $1.80 per 
dozen. If you will prepay charges, account 
of sales will be sent you same day goods are 
received, less five per cent commission." 

Letters like the above come to us from all 
parts of the country, and squab breeders 
whom we have supplied get similar communi- 
cations. The poultry and game dealers in all 
sections are after squabs all the time and 
could sell a great many more than they are 
now able to get hold of. The above letter is 
written notwithstanding the fact that in New 
Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania alone are 
today four or five thousand squab breeders, 
many of them with large flocks of over one 
thousand pairs of birds each. In the town 
of Moorestown, New Jersey, to take only one 
case, are from 200 to 300 squab breeders. As 
we say in our Manual, people in these sec- 
tions keep hens for their own use, but not for 
market, for they know that squabs pay bet- 
ter than hens. Poultrymen in other sections 
of the United States are fast finding this out 
and are putting in squabs along with poultry, 
or giving up poultry altogether. In spite of 
the large output of squabs from the 4,000 to 
5,000 breeders in New Jersey and Eastern 
Pennsylvania, which go into the Philadel- 
phia and New York and Boston markets 
(for the squab raisers in New England sup- 
ply only about one-tenth of the Boston de- 
mand), there is all the time a scarcity of 
squabs, as the above letter proves. This 
letter comes to us because we have the repu- 
tation for dealing in a fancy product. There 
are breeders of squabs who send to market an 
inferior product from small and cheap Hom- 
ers, and such squabs are not the kind which 
dealers are anxious to get. Be sure you are 
able to breed a fancy squab by getting your 
breeding stock of us. Some beginners are 
anxious as to express rates, not compre- 
hending that they can ship squabs long dis- 
tances at a trifling cost. The express rate 
from Boston to New York is $1 per 100 
pounds. This means that an express team 
will call at our door, get a box of squabs 
weighing 100 pounds, transport it to New 
York, and in that city deliver it by team to 
the commission dealer for $1._ In the case 
of a box of our squabs weighing twelve 
pounds to the dozen, about eight dozen and 
the box would wei^jh 100 pounds. If we de- 
livered them in New York at the price quoted, 
$4.50 per dozen (or S36 gross), we would net, 
deducting his five per cent commission and 
the $1 express charges, $33.20. The com- 
mission man would resell the squabs to his 
trade for $5 to $8 per dozen. By a dozen 
squabs we mean in this case and in all cases 
where prices are quoted, twelve squabs. We 
do not rnean one dozen pairs of squabs. We 
mean six pairs of squabs. Squabs are always 
quoted at so much per dozen, not so much 
per dozen pairs. 



On January 8, 1903, the New York squab 
buyer above quoted offered the following 
prices for squabs: For squabs weighing ten 
pounds to the dozen and up, $4.75; eight 
pounds and up, $4.50; seven pounds and up, 
$3.60; six and one-half pounds, $2.75; dark 
and No. 2 squabs, $2. 

On January 25th, 1903, he offered the fol- 
lowing prices: Ten pounds and up. $5.50 per 
dozen; eight pounds and up, $5.00 per dozen; 
seven pounds and up, $4; six and one-half 
pounds, $3; dark and No. 2 squabs, $2.10. 

On February 6, 1903, he offered us the 
same prices as last quoted, adding that he 
would pay $3 to $3.75 per dozen for squabs 
of average weight and grade. In this letter 
he said: "As I have been getting quite a 
few letters from some of your squab customers 
of late, I want to thank you for same, and 
hope to get some of their birds and prove to 
their satisfaction by the prices large, fine 
birds will sell at, that squab raising if prop- 
erly carried on is a very profitable and pay- 
ing industry. The demand for squabs is on 
the increase and will be from now on, as the 
game laws of all the States are such as to 
prevent much small game from reaching 
the several markets, where there has been a 
big supply of such at low prices that squabs 
will now take their place, so that new be- 
ginners have nothing to fear from a glut by 
over-production of good-sized squabs. This 
we have proven to our own satisfaction when 
we introduced the large or royal squab to our 
best hotel and cafe trade in this market, dur- 
ing the past season, and it now looks as 
though our demand will be greater this com- 
ing season. The buyers of these large birds 
see they are worth the difference in price, 
that they have a better call for them once 
they introduce them to the consumer. En- 
courage all your buyers to invest in birds 
that produce large, plump squabs. It wiH 
pay them best in the end and make a better 
demand for their grade of birds." 

On February 16, 1903, he offered us the 
following prices : Squabs weighing ten pounds 
to the dozen and up, $6 per dozen; nine pounds, 
$5.50 per dozen; eight pounds, $5 per dozen; 
seven pounds, $4 per dozen; six and one-half 
pounds, $3 per dozen; dark, $2.10 per dozen. 

The above quotations are a good indica- 
tion of what the New York market for squabs 
is. 

One of the practical ways we have of help- 
ing our customers is to refer them to such 
first-class buyers of squabs as the firm above 
quoted. We will give the address of the 
above New York firm to you when you buy 
breeding stock of us. 

SCRANTON MARKET. The following let- 
ter is from Chandler and Short, commission 
merchants, 15 Lackawanna Avenue, Scran- 
ton, Penn., dated February 15, 1903: "We 
have yours in regard to squabs. They are 
worth from $2.75 to $3 per dozen, dressed, 
on our market. Whatever you ship, we will 



144 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



endeavor to get the very highest market 
prices for. All you have to do is to have the 
feathers picked off." 

CLEVELAND MARKET. The steward's 
department of the Union Club, 158 Euclid 
Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, sends the following 
letter under date of February 13, 1903: " I 
am in receipt of your letter of yesterday and 
beg to say regarding your questions about 
squabs, that they are worth to us from $3 to 
$3.50 per dozen for the best and largest 
squabs either dressed or # in the feather." 

W. H. Bennett, proprietor of Oyster Ocean 
Cafe, 368 Superior Street, Cleveland, Ohio 
(February 12, 1903): " I use about one and 
one-half dozen squabs a week. Price averages 
$3 per dozen the vear through." 

W. H. Seager, Sheriff Street Market, Cleve- 
land, Ohio (Feb. 12, 1903): "I purchase 
squabs when offered in this market and have 
sent to California for them on special occa- 
sions. The market price varies from $2.40 
to $4 per dozen." 

Gibson Pinkett Company, Fulton Market, 
21-25 Prospect Street, Cleveland, Ohio (Feb. 
12, 1903): "We buy squabs and pay what 
they are worth. Price runs from $2.50 to $4 
per dozen. "We could use fifty dozen or more 
today." 

KANSAS CITY MARKET. The market for 
squabs here is steadily improving. Here are 
some letters bearing on the subject : 

From James R. Peden & Co., 404 Walnut 
Street, Kansas City, Mo. (Jan. 26, 1903): 
" Send your squabs to me. I have good, 
steady demand for them and will take all 
you can otter. Top prices paid, or handled 
on commission." (Mr. Peden _ ships squabs 
to New York City and other points east.) 

W. M. Woods, Produce Company, stalls 12 
and 13 west side, City Market, Kansas City, 
Mo. (Jan. 26, 1903) : " The market for squabs 
is good. Prices range from $1 to $1.50 for 
common stock and from $1.80 to $2 and $2.25 
for fancy. I am sure you will find a market 
for your squabs and if they come up to the 
mark you have set for them, will command 
a much better price. Kansas City market 
for squabs is growing. I will take your 
squabs at market price day received." 

C. T. Wiggins, East entrance City Market, 
Kansas City, Mo. (Jan. 26, 1903): "It is 
only a question of how many you can supply. 
I can handle all the squabs you will offer and 
will pay you good nrices for them. The 
demand is strong and increasing. Hope you 
will soon make a start with me." 

George O. Relf, steward, Midland Hotel, 
Kansas City, Mo. (Jan. 27, 1903): "We can 
use squabs almost any time at $2.75 per dozen. 
If you have some now we will take one or two 
dozen and if O. K. will very likely use them 
right along." 

Ewins-Dean Hotel Co., proprietors Hotel 
Metropole (St. Joseph, Mo.) and Hotel Balti- 
more (Kansas City, Mo.) (Jan. 30, 1903): 



"Kindly quote me prices on squabs by the 
dozen. I have been using about two hundred 
per month and expect to use more. If your 
prices are right you vill hear from me in a few 
days." (Signed) E G Venable, steward. 

E. Klidey, the iSew Coates House, Kansas 
City, Mo. (Jan. 29, 1903): "We are using a 
few squabs which we buy from the commis- 
sion men here at $2.50 per dozen. Let me 
know what price you want for yours and we 
may be able to use eight or ten dozen a week." 

D. P. Ritchie, steward Hotel Baltimore, 
Kansas City, Mo. (Feb. 6, 1903): "Your 
favor of January 27 received. We pay $2.75 
per dozen for fancy squabs delivered, with 
feathers on." 

OUR PIGEONS GOING AROUND CAPE 
HORN. We have sent our breeding stock 
about everywhere, but one of the most curious 
orders we ever had is from Captain Lane of the 
ship Kennebec, which arrived in Boston in 
November, 1902, from Seattle, with a cargo of 
lumber. At this writing (Feb. 18, 1903), 
Captain Lane is making arrangements with us 
to supply him with a breeding outfit of our 
Homers, which he will instal on his ship so 
that on his long return voyage to San Fran- 
cisco (or Seattle) he will have fresh squab meat 
regularly. Captain Lane is part owner of his 
big ship and is accompanied by his wife and 
young son. He has visited our place and 
knows about our birds and our methods. 

SQUABS IN NEW MEXICO. Here in the 
East we would not look upon New Mexico as 
a fancy market for squabs, but here is a letter 
from a customer in Albemarle, New Mexico, 
which proves that he is getting interested 
(Jan. 29, 1903) : "The pigeons you sent me on 
the 20th were received yesterday in excellent 
condition, and am well pleased with them. 
Please find enclosed a money order for thirty 
dollars, for which send me twelve more pairs 
of your Extra mated thoroughbred adult 
pigeons. Ship as before by Wells-Fargo 
express." 

SOUTHERN MARKET. Our breeding 
stock has gone to every State in the South. 
If you live in any part of the South, you can 
market squabs as readily as poultry is mar- 
keted. One of our Southern customers, whc 
lives in Citronelle, Alabama, has been to Bos 
ton to see us. Under date of January 30, 
1903, he writes: "I have received Homers 
from two others, but they do not compare with 
yours. I will build my second house very soon 
as the first one is filling up fast." 

LONG DISTANCE SHIPMENTS. To all 

inquirers we wish to state again emphatically 
that we certainly do guarantee the safe arrival 
of every bird, no matter in what part of the 
world you live. We are learning all the time 
how to handle the long distance shipments 
best and experience has taught us little 
wrinkles about the baskets and the arrange- 



APPENDIX A 



145 



ments of the feed and water dishes, which are 
valuable. The express messengers get their 
instructions not from guesswork or from 
written notices or tags, but from a board a 
foot square on which is printed in bold type 
the necessary directions. This winter (1903) 
we have shijiped every week to California. 
One order of 200 pairs for Santa Ana, Cali- 
fornia, filled seventeen baskets. Of the 400 
birds, only one turned up dead, but as we had 
sent along four more pairs than the order 
called for, we were seven birds ahead on the 
count. Another large shipment to San Rafael, 
California, in January, 1903, brought back by 
return mail the following letter, which we 
print exactly as we got it, word for word, vnd 
altogether • it is one of the best recommenda- 
tions for us to people who live at a distance 
that we ever received : 

"Yesterday a.m. (January 20) at 8.30 we 
received your letter advising us of the ship- 
ment of 100 pairs of Extra Mated Homers, on 
January 14; advising also that the pigeons 
would reach us before the letter. Well, they 
did not arrive until 4.30 today, January 21 (7) 
seven days on the road. We notice that seven 
days are also required to get your shipments to 
Los Angeles; and when you assume that they 
will reach here at or before, the receipt of no- 
tice of shipment we think you are mistaken. 
Nevertheless, be this as it may, the birds 
reached us tonight at 5.30, every bird in first- 
class shape — every individual one being in first- 
class shape; giving evidence of being shipped 
jx perfect condition and having plenty of feed 
and water en route. Your feed ran short, as 
evi'' ;nced by charges of 40 cents made by 
express company for feed provided by them, 
which we are only too glad to pay, and at 
same time shows care and attention of express 
company messengers — a good fault. Every 
bird in the lot is bright and active, and they 
come into a first-class home, a fine house and 
flying pen, plenty of feed and a galvanized iron 
pan 6 inches deep with water 4 inches deep 
running constantly. Dimensions of pan, 4 
feet 6 inches by 2 feet 10 inches, guarantee- 
ing plenty of bathing facilities. They were 
liberated after dark, but the early morning 
will afford all the bathing facilities they will 
need, and we prophesy they will embrace the 
opportunities afforded at first opportunity. 
We wish to compliment you on your prompt 
methods of doing business, and on the superior- 
ity of the birds shipped us. They were indeed 
high-class birds, in fact, Mr. Rice, they are 
better stock than we expected to receive. Your 
sending us four extra pairs above order was a 
graceful act on your part, one which we fully 
appreciate, and thank you right here for it. 
Your shipment was nearly a week before we 
expected it * it by extra exertion we got all 
ready in time and they have a fine home. 
Express charges at $14 per hundred Boston 
to San Rafael, 270 pounds weight of shipment, 
amounted to $37.80 plus 40 cents for feed, 
$38.20 total, at merchandise rate. Still at 
rate given in your circular $4 for 24 birds (12 



pairs) , this is too much by a margin. _ $4 rate 
to San Francisco per 12 pairs is not just cor- 
rect, still we are not kicking, for the difference 
is not very much. Note this, 201 birds came 
out of those baskets. Now we are sure, abso- 
lutely sure of the count. Two people kept 
count as each bird was liberated and 201 birds 
came out of the crates. If 100 pairs are 
mated, what will we do for that poor lone 
bird? We wait for suggestions ; pretty 
tough on that lone bird, 3500 miles from home, 
but he or she is here sure. In conclusion we 
thank you for your promptness, your honesty 
and your fair, square dealing and will keep 
you posted as to our progress as per your sug- 
gestion. We thank you for the crates; they 
are fine. We wrote you yesterday and look 
for reply in accordance with your usual 
promptness." 

We sent the above letter to Mr. R. H. 
Dwight, agent for the Wells-Fargo Express 
Company in Boston, and he was quite as 
pleased as we were. Through Mr. Dwight's 
co-operation our through western shipments 
by the Wells-Fargo have been a remarkable 
success. The only difficulty we have ever 
had on account of long-distance trade came 
when we were shipping in crates, not baskets. 
We sent a large order into San Francisco and 
on the way four of the crates were broken into 
by rough handling and forty-two birds got 
away. The Wells-Fargo Express Company 
settled with us for the loss of those birds and 
we made good to the customer, sending the 
missing birds on, and the customer was out 
not a cent for further express charges, for the 
Wells-Fargo people carried the birds dead- 
head. 

The baskets in which we now ship cannot 
be broken open except with the aid of an axe 
and they can be thrown ten feet across a 
deriot platform without being injured. 

There is a minor criticism in the above 
letter in the ma er of express charges. Ac- 
cording to the figures which we give in the 
circular headed " Express Rates," the cus- 
tomer should have been asked to pay about 
$33, instead of $37, as he did pay. We be- 
lieve the figures which we give to be correct 
in every case — the slight variation which 
may come as it came in this case is due to 
the fact that no two persons will weigh up 
the same lot of goods exactly the same, and 
that, of course, the birds vary in weight. 
The weight when the shipment starts is less 
than when it finishes, because at the end 
the bottoms of the baskets are covered with 
manure. (The grain which we send for feed 
is not weighed in and charged for transpor- 
tation.) If the waybill is lost or delayed, 
and the agent at destination weighs the 
shipment, he will get a greater weight, and 
consequently a higher rate, than the express 
employee who weighed the shipment here in 
Boston. 

We wish to say further that if you think 
we have figured the express rates to you too 
low, send us money which we claim to be 




146 



APPENDIX A 



147 



correct and we will prepay all charges, thus 
putting on ourselves and not on you the dif- 
ference, if there is any. 

COMMON PIGEONS AGAIN. We have 
had some of the old-time raisers of squabs 
from common pigeons on the ranches in the 
Middle West write us for more proofs that 
Homers are ahead of common pigeons. 

In reply we will print, here the letter 
which we received in January, 1903, from a 
customer as follows: 

" I have for sale between four and five 
hundred pen-fed common pigeons. Can you 
use them, and at what price? Should you 
not be in a position to use them yourself 
probably you can refer me to some one that 
is in the market for some fine pen-fed birds. 
The Homers which I purchased of you some 
time last summer are doing very nicely, and 
have to make more room for them is the 
reason of wanting to dispose of my common 
birds. Thanking you in advance for favor 
asked." 

We asked him to tell us if he had not 
found our Homers more profitable than com- 
mon pigeons. He replied as follows: 

" In reply to yours will say that your state- 
ment of the Homers being more profitable 
than the common birds is true, as the fact 
has been demonstrated to me in the past 
five or six months, by my experience of hav- 
ing the two lots side by side in separate pens. 
My common birds referred to are fine birds 
and will sell them f. o. b. at $2.50 per dozen, 
which, taking the plumpness of the bird in 
consideration, is very reasonable." 

The above breeder lives in Missouri and 
we expect to sell a good many of our Hom- 
ers to him and to those in his State who 
know of his experience. His letters are at 
our Boston office, where they may be seen. 
We will not give his name by mail because 
he is a customer, but if you think the above 
letters are made up by us, you write to the 
Boston office of Dun's or Bradstreet's com- 
mercial agencies and ask for one of their 
men to be sent to our office to investigate. 

PIGEON MANURE. Our advice in the 
Manual as to pigeon manure has interested 
pigeon breeders all over the country, nearly 
all of whom say that they never have taken 
pains to save it, and when it got too thick 
they have scraped it up as best they could 
and used it for fertilizer. They want to know 
how we keep it pure, and all about the 
market, etc. 

The pigeon breeder who does not make 
provision for the purity of the manure and 
the steady sale of it is just throwing bank- 
bills straight into the fire. We have erected 
two buildings at our place for the manure, 
and take every precaution to keep the ma- 
nure free from straw, sawdust, sand, etc. 
The first building stands at the back of one 
of the long houses, and about halfway in the- 
whole plant, so that we can reach it easily 



with a wheelbarrow from the houses. There 
is a slide cut in the north wall of what we 
call No. 2 squab house, and through this 
slide the manure is shovelled from the wheel- 
barrow (standing in the passageway) directly 
into the manure house, where it stays until 
there is from $50 to $100 worth of it, when 
we bag it up and send it off. In the other 
building, which is larger, we dry and store a 
larger quantity of the manure. 

We take the wheelbarrow empty down 
a passageway and stop at a unit pen, then 
go into the unit pen with a bushel basket 
and scrapers. We use a trowel to clean off 
the nest-bowls, a tree scraper to clean out 
the nest-boxes and a hoe or a floor chisel 
(same as is used to clean off snow and ice 
from city sidewalks), six inches wide at the 
blade and with a long handle so that it can 
be easilyused while the operator is standing. 
In scraping the floor, the manure rolls up 
with little exertion off the blade of the chisel. 
It is shovelled into the bushel basket and 
the basket taken out into the passageway 
and dumped into the wheelbarrow. It 
takes one man not over thirty minutes to 
clean a pen thoroughly and the product of 
each pen is between two and three bushels, 
or from $1.20 to $1.80 for half an hour's 
work, which is pretty good pay. (We have 
been getting in the winter of 1903 sixty 
cents a bushel from the American Hide and 
Leather Company of Lowell, Mass.) We 
ship the manure by freight in bags. We buy 
these bags when we can from farmers 
who have large herds of cows and who use 
considerable grain, and they let the bags go 
for one and two cents apiece. Second-hand 
bags in the Boston junkshops cost from four 
to nine cents apiece. The leather people let 
the bags pile up and then send them back 
to us in a bunch. We are particular to save 
not only the manure in the unit pens, but 
in the sorting and mating cages and coops. 
We cover the floors of these cages with bur- 
lap, not tacking the burlap down, but stretch- 
ing it over three finish nails tacked at the 
backs of the cages and two nails tacked at 
the front of the cages. The manure cakes 
and dries on the burlap as it would on the 
floor. When there is a layer about half an 
inch thick, all tramped hard, dry and odor- 
less by the constant hammering of the feet 
of the birds, we take the burlap off the nails 
and stretch it outside, bottom up, then 
sprinkle water on the back and the manure 
drops off in large cakes. The burlap then is 
dried and replaced. This method saves an 
immense amount of time which otherwise 
would be consumed in scraping the floors of 
the cages. We have 108 of these cages at 
the farm and in our Boston shipping room, 
each capable of holding from 12 to 20 pairs 
of birds, and we have burlap carpets on all 
of them. We use a large amount of burlap 
not only for this purpose but for small grain 
bags to go with orders for breeders to dis- 
tant points, and also for the floors of our 



148 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



shipping baskets. We buy this burlap in 
large rolls weighing 150 pounds and contain- 
ing from 300 to 320 square yards. We do 
not hem it or sew it in any way for the cages , 
simply cut it and in stretching it over the 
nails fold the raw edges under. 

Having read ihe Manual, you know that 
we do not use sand or sawdust in our squab 
houses, so we are able to deliver manure 
which is absolutely pure. The tanneries do 
not like to get lots of impure manure and of 
course pay more for the unadulterated arti- 
cle. It is just as easy and more business- 
like to keep this by-product pure. Feathers 
and grain in the manure do not injure it for 
tanneries. 

The manure in the houses has no odor, 
but when we have got it scraped up and 
banked in the manure house, it gives forth 
a pungent, ammonia-like smell. As the 
manure house is entirely cut off from the 
squab houses by the slide in the passage- 
way, this pungency does not trouble any- 
one, It is not a nasty smell, anyway. 

We have had customers from as far off as 
Illinois write that they were quite charmed 
with our story about the manure, and that 
they were saving up bags of it to ship by 
freight to the American Hide and Leather 
Company at Lowell, Mass. This tannery 
is a branch of the Leather Trust, which has 
other tanneries, so use your wits and find 
out which tannery is nearest you, and ship 
to that one. If you can find a tannery not 
in the trust, sell to that, if you wish to. If 
you sell to a trust tannery, the check which 
pays you will come from the New York of- 
fice of the trust, same as ours do. We rec- 
ommend our New England customers to 
ship to Lowell. We have always found the 
leather people square in measuring the 
manure, in fact they have gi/en us credit on 
two or three occasions for more than we 
thought we had. They pay after you have 
sent your bill of lading and the report of 
the measurer has gone to the New York of- 
fice. You need not be afraid of swamping 
the leather trust with pigeon manure. They 
will take all you can scrape up. Chemicals 
which are used as substitutes when pigeon 
manure cannot be had are said to be injur- 
ious to the hide. 

We write the above to help you sell the 
manure from your squab houses. Do not ask 
us to advise you further on this point, for we 
cannot. If you cannot find a tannery within 
shipping distance, try the florists or market 
gardeners. We are informed that the florists' 
exchange in New York City is a good place to 
sell pigeon manure, and customers near that 
city have told us that they are selling there. 

SQUABS IN THE POULTRY PRESS. The 

magazines devoted to poultry are beginning 
to take up squabs on account of the increasing 
interest shown by poultrymen in the subject. 
In the Poultry Keeper for November 15, 1902, 
appeared a contribution by A, P. Spiller. 



After giving the general arrangements for 
caring for the birds, he says: "At about four 
weeks of age the squabs are ready for market. 
Some markets require them dressed, others 
only killed. Good breeding pigeons will 
hatch and rear from six to eleven pair of young 
a year. The cost to keep a pair of breeders, 
including the raising of the young, at the pres- 
ent time is about eighty cents a year, this, of 
course, varying some with location and cost of 
feeding stuff. Wild game birds are becoming 
more scarce each year. The properly raised 
squab pigeon comes nearer taking the place of 
these wild birds than anything else. That 
they make fine eating, those who have eaten 
them cannot deny. There is always a ready 
sale for good plump squabs at hotels, restau- 
rants, markets and private families, prices 
ranging from $2.50 to $4.50 per dozen, de- 
pending upon quality and season. When one 
begins to raise pigeons it is better to try to 
secure strains from some reliable breeder who 
has stock bred_ along profitable lines. There 
is a difference in regard to breeding and feed- 
ing qualities and results obtained which war- 
rants the paying of a little more at the start in 
obtaining more profitable stock. The writer 
is in favor of the straight Homer, carefully 
selected as to size, shape, breeding and feeding 
qualities, as it is well known that the Homer 
. pigeon is qne of the best feeders and breeders 
of any variety, and the numbers they will pro- 
duce in a year more than balance any slight 
advantage _ that may be obtained in size. 
The breeding of_ pigeons is fascinating to 
most people. It is true there are some losses, 
but with care and some experience in manage- 
ment the few losses that occur to the beginner 
may be reduced to a very small percentage. 
The work is light and not as exacting as in 
some other lines, affording a lucrative employ- 
ment almost from the start to those who are 
not strong, as well as to the most robust. A 
flock once mated will give but little concern to 
their owner, as they remain constant for life 
regardless of the numbers contained in the 
flock, and for years will amply repay in profit 
and pleasure for the feed and care given them." 

We wish to call the special attention of 
our readers to that portion of the above 
article by Mr. Spiller where he says that the 
cost of a pair of breeders is eighty cents a year. 
We say the cost is sixty cents a year at the 
present prices for grain (1903). In his article 
Mr. Spiller says nothing about keeping the 
pigeon manure free from dirt and selling it to 
tanneries. _ This must be done in order to hold 
the feed bill down to its lowest notch. We say 
that the manure will pay one-third of the 
grain bill, and taking Mr. Spiller's figure of 
eighty cents, and deducting one-third from it, 
we have as the net cost fifty-three cents. 

We asked one of our friends living in West 
Newton, Mass., to ask Mr. Spiller if his esti- 
mate of cost was made when he was saving the 
manure and selling it to tanneries. Mr. 
Spiller replied by letter as follows under date 
of February 16, 1903: "No, the manure was 



APPENDIX A 



149 



not taken into consideration at all. I do not 
know what the tanneries pay for it." 

The owners of large flocks of common pig- 
eons in the West who are breeding squabs for 
market do not sell the manure and for this 
reason they lose an important source of rev- 
enue. It is remarkable to us that pigeons pay 
with them at all. Certainly the manure is a 
very important by-product, and you should 
figure on selling it just as you figure on selling 
the squabs. 

NEWSPAPER MARKET QUOTATIONS. 

Only a few of the daily newspapers of the 
country are in the habit of printing regularly 
market quotations on squabs. The Boston 
Globe has an article about once a week for 
the information of the household and in this 
article squabs are regularly quoted. At 
Thanksgiving time, 1902, the Globe quoted 
squabs at from $4 to $5 per dozen. In the 
Globe of February 14, 1903, squabs were 
quoted at $4.50 and $5 per dozen. If our New 
England customers will buy a copy of the 
Friday or Saturday Globe each week, they will 
probably find this household article containing 
the quotations for squabs on one of those days. 

SQUABS IN THE STATE OF WASHING- 
TON. The squab raisers in New Jersey, New 
York and Pennsylvania are very well satis- 
fied with the New York and Philadelphia mar- 
kets for squabs, and we have done consider- 
able talking about the New York market our- 
selves, but let us tell you that the market for 
squabs on the Pacific Coast is a fine one, too. 
Here in the East we think Seattle is a long way 
from home and you may find some city chaps 
around us who think that city is but just on 
the edge of the tall timber, ^.f you live out in 
Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, 
Kentucky, or any State in that section, you 
ought to feel pretty sure that the markets for 
squabs around you are good, after you have 
read what we are going to tell you here about 
the market for squabs in Seattle and its vicin- 
ity. 

These letters were obtained for us by a 
customer who lives near Seattle : 

Fulton Market, corner Second Avenue and 
Columbia btreet, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 11, 
1903) : "Yours at hand and will say that if 
your birds are as you say, we can use on an 
average of twenty dozen per week at $2.50 per 
dozen, feathers on." 

A. D. Blowers & Co., 817-819 Western 
Avenue, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 12, 1903): 
"Your valued favor to hand regarding squabs. 
In reply will say that most of the squabs used 
in this city are brought from the East and 
held in cold storage, so that native birds will 
no doubt sell much better than this article. 
We have made some inquiry about them and 
find that there will be no trouble in selling four 
to six dozen a week, and no doubt many more, 
as the trade would open up. We do not think 
there is any one in this part of the country who 



raises thenr for sale, and think if you can pro- 
duce a good article that you will have no 
trouble whatever in selling them here. The 
price for eastern squabs is $2 25 to $2.50 per 
dozen. Some of the. customers prefer to have 
them plucked, others alive We think it 
would be better, perhaps, in the first ship- 
ment to send them alive until a regular trade 
is established. Our commission for selling 
them will be ten per cent of the gross sales. If 
you have any nice ones, it would be well for 
you to send two to four dozen along and see 
what we can do with them for you." i 

(It is better to ship squabs killed and prop- 
erly cooled. Dd not send them alive to your 
market. Few butchers in the commission 
men's employ understand how to .kill and 
cool a squab right. Do your own killing and 
cooling and packing.- as we have given you 
precise directions and you will know, not 
guess, that your product is reaching the con- 
sumer in perfect condition.) 

Palace Market Co., Second Avenue, Seattle 
Wash. (Feb. 11, 1903): " Squabs such as you 
speak of would be worth 20 to 25 cents each. 
Would prefer the feathers on. We can use 
all you have." 

California Commission Company, 923 
Western Avenue, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 11, 
1903): "Your favor to hand and contents' 
noted. In reply we beg to state that squabs ■ 
are selling from $2.50 to $3.50 per dczen, 
according to the quality of the birds. We 
want them with the feathers on and not 
drawn. You may ship us two or three dozen 
for a trial and then we will be better able to 
tell what we can do for you and see how many 
we can handle at a time. Our commission 
is ten per cent, on all goods. We are certain 
that we can give you entire satisfaction and 
know that our business methods will please 
you. We make prompt returns and keep 
shippers well posted on the market conditions. 
Trusting to be favored with yoirr. further 
valued orders." 

C. W. Chamberlain & Co., 905-907 Western 
Avenue, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 13,' 1903): 
*' Yours of the 9th at hand and contents fully 
noted. Squabs, such as you mentioned, 
would sell here for about $3 per dozen. Our 
selling charge is ten per cent. Twelve to 
fifteen dozen per week could be disposed of 
from present information at hand. They 
should be shipped alive." 

J. F. Gayton, steward Ranier Club (this 
club is composed of the richest men of Se- 
attle), Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 13, 1903): "I 
am in receipt of your letter with regard to 
squabs. Yes, I want some squabs at any 
time. Will be glad to have them. I will 
take a dozen at 25 cents each, either dressed 
or undressed, three dollars per dozen. After 
I see the first birds I can tell whether I can 
take them regularly." 

Williams Bros., Gilt Edge Cafe, Everett, 
Wash. (Feb. 12, 1903): " In reply to yours 
will say, I cannot say at present how many 




VIEW FROM PASSAGEWAY. 




VIEW FROM INTERIOR OF SQUAB HOUSE. 
Above are two views of a model made to illustrate what we call the dowel 
system of feeding and watering. It is a great time-saver in a long house. Between 
the floor of squab house and the lowest tier of nest boxes is one foot space. Fill 
this space with three-eighths inch doweling set one and one-half inches apart, as 
pictured. (This doweling comes in any length from a carpenter and is very cheap.) 
Set galvanized drinker and feed trough as shown. The trough has a three-quarter 
inch slot in its bottom so that the grains will fall into position ready for eating on 
the back side of the bottom strip into which the dowels are driven. The birds 
stick their heads through the dowels to eat and drink, and cannot foul either grain 
or water. Push a wheelbarrow with grain along the passageway and a house one 
hundred feet long can be attended to in fifteen minutes. Without this arrangement, 
if you go into each unit pen to feed and water, you will use up at least an hour, and 
it will be harder work. By this method you need enter the breeding pens only when 
killing or cleaning times come. 



150 



APPENDIX A 



151 



squabs I can use, but will start with two 
dozen a week, picked, at $2.50 per dozen. 
Ship as soon as you please and will look the 
market up for you in the meantime." 

Gordon & Co., commission merchants, 811 
Western Avenue, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 13, 
1903) : " Replying to your letter will say that 
we have telephoned to several of the hotels 
and restaurants here that would be apt to 
use squabs and we find that there are some 
places that make a specialty of using them 
and we do not believe we would have any 
trouble in disposing of them nicely. We 
would suggest that you send down a small 
box of them and let us show the customers 
just what they are and find out just what 
they will be willing to pay for them. They 
have been selling recently for 25 cents each. 
If you care to make this shipment, we will 
be glad to get it." 

Seattle Market, Cor. First Avenue South 
and Washington Street, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 
10, 1903) : " In reply to yours would say, it 
would be a good idea for you to ship us in 
two or three dozen squabs for sample. I could 
get the hotel and restaurant people's opin- 
ion on price and quality and be able to talk 
to you on quantity. Eastern frozen squabs 
are selling on this market for $2 to $2.25 per 
dozen. If your stock is as you say, I think 
it would be a better seller than frozen goods." 

Maison Barberis, restaurant and dining 
parlors, 204-210 James Street, Seattle, Wash. 
(Feb. 11, 1903) : " We will take thirty dozen 
squabs every month; have them plucked, and 
will pay you $3 per dozen. Please answer 
and say about what day of the month you 
will send them in." 

E. C. Klyce & Co., commission merchants, 
906 Western Avenue, Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 13, 
1903) : " Yours regarding squabs to hand. 
We have investigated the market here and 
find a good many of the first-class hotels and 
cafes will take them at very fair figures. 
There seems to be a variance of opinion as to 
what they will pay, but we presume that the 
supply has been very limited, and they 
would pay just about whatever the seller 
would ask in order to get them. We think 
the average price would be about $2.50 to 
$2.75 per dozen. Of course there would be 
some bidding among the different buyers in 
case they were scarce, and we might get more 
for them. We have immediate access by 
'phone and salesmen with all our customers 
who serve squabs for short orders or other- 
wise. By this means you would be in close 
touch with the people most in need of them 
and would always try to get you top notch 
prices. We believe this is a good investment 
for you to grow them for this market. Of 
course you would have to start in and grad- 
uate up to find how large the volume of trade 
will be that we can command you on them. 
Anything in the way of game, fowls or meats 
are staple sellers at good prices." 

Hamm & Schmitz, Hotel Butler, Seattle, 



Wash. (Feb. 12, 1903) : " In reply to yours, 
will say that we could use three dozen a 
week of the squabs and will pay three dollars 
per dozen for plucked birds, laid down here." 

The above letters indicate to us that peo- 
ple in the State of Washington who eat squabs 
have to pay from $3 to $4 a dozen for the 
cold storage, frozen kind. Poor as these 
are (they are the lightweight squabs of com- 
mon pigeons) they are in active demand. 
Of course the consumers would pay as much, 
and no doubt, more, for fresh-killed squabs 
bred from our fine Homers. The commis- 
sion men are certainly eager to get squabs. 
They are willing to pay from $2 to $3.50 per 
dozen. They resell them at a profit. 

The above letter from E. C. Klyce & Co. 
is sensible and could well be written by any 
commission firm in any State in the Union, 
or by any commission firm anywhere that 
sells poultry, eggs and butter. Wherever 
there is a sale for hens and chickens, dressed 
or with feathers on, there is a sale for squabs 
at higher prices not only because they are 
a greater delicacy, but also because good 
eaters everywhere know they are a greater 
delicacy, and expect to pay, and do pay, more 
for squabs, pound for pound, than they pay 
for hens and chickens, geese and turkeys. 

We ship to Seattle by the fastest express 
trains. The birds go from Boston to St. 
Paul (Minnesota) by the Wells-Fargo Express 
Company. At St. Paul the birds are taken 
by the Northern Pacific Express Company, 
which has charge of them to destination. 
Every express messenger in the employ of 
these two companies of this long route has 
handled our shipments and made a fine 
record, and is trained to the work of feeding 
and watering all sizes of shipments. Our 
Seattle trade can be sure that their ship 
ments will be treated right and will reach 
them in perfect condition. That is what we 
guarantee. 

MORE LETTERS. Here are more letters 
from squab buyers, unclassified, as they came 
to us in the first part of February, 1903 : 

Allyn House, Hartford, Conn. (February, 
1903) : " In answer to yours will say we are 
continually using squabs. We buy them 
plucked in all cases. We payall prices, ac- 
cording to size, age, and condition when re- 
ceived. They run from $2.25 to $3.25 per 
dozen. Sometimes the market is a little 
higher." 

Russell House, Detroit, Michigan (Feb- 
ruary, 1903): " In reply to your letter would 
say that we use quite a few squabs here. Am 
paying at present $2.50 per dozen for splen- 
did stock. If you care to send me any at 
that, you have to pay the express, I should 
be glad to have same." 

Duquesne Club, Pittsburg, Penn. (Feb. 11, 
1903): "Wish to know, if you have squabs 
of first quality. Should you have about three 
dozen on hand, I would pay you per dozen. 



152 



NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



squabs plucked and delivered from $3.59 to 
$3.75 per dozen. If price suits you please let 
me know." Signed by E. Max Heinrich, 
superintendent. 

Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln, Nebraska (Feb. 
16,1903): "Replying to your letter. "We can 
use about two dozen squabs per week in our 
cafe at present. Will pay $2.50 per dozen 
delivered here, feathers on." 

Hotel Victoria, Pittsburg, Penn. (Feb. 18, 
1903) : In regard to your letter, will say, we 
use about one dozen or one and one-half 
dozen per week, just depends on the business, 
and will pay $3.50 per dozen delivered here 
at the hotel." 

Fred Harvey, general office, Union Depot 
Annex, Kansas City, Missouri; Chicago office, 
corner 17th Street and Wentworth Avenue 
(Feb. 14, 1903) : We can use 15 to 20 dozen 
squabs per week if the birds are very nice 
and the price reasonable. Can use them with 
feathers on. Do not know what we can afford 
to pay, it depends entirely on the birds. If 
you will please send three dozen squabs by 
Santa Fe baggage car to Kansas City, charging 
them at such a price that you can afford to 
furnish them, I will use them as a sample. If 
the birds are not of the right quality and the 
price is too high, we will not need any more, 
but if the birds and price are right, we can use 
quantity given above. I enclose baggage car 
shipping bill; be careful to fill it out correctly. 
This bill is made in duplicate: you hold one 
copy as your receipt and the other_ goes with 
the birds. Please put the squabs in a small 
box with a little ice." 

Hotel Savoy, Ewins-Childs Hotel Co., pro- 
prietors, Kansas City, Missouri (Feb. 16, 
1903): "What is your lowest price on best 
squabs in five-dozen lots ? We are not in the 
habit of sending out of town for our supplies, 
but if you have something better than we can 
get here, it is possible that we can do business 
with you." (Siged by George Thompson, 
steward). 

Frank E. Miller, superintendent Dining 
Service, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway 
System, No. 707 Chestnut Street, St. Louis, 
Missouri (Feb. 16, 1903): "I have your 
favor relative to squabs. It is proper for you 
to state the price per dozen. We occupy eight 
or ten large dining stations and require a large 
number." 

Hollenden Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio (Feb. 
19, 1903): "In reply to your letter making 
inquiry regarding squabs I will state that we 
are paying $3.00 per dozen for nice dressed 
squabs. We "do not buy any unless they are 
fully dressed, no feathers on." 

Louis A. Fisher, Manager Century Club, 
Cleveland, Ohio (Feb. 17, 1903): "We buy 
all our squabs in New York as the prices of 
three and four dollars per dozen prevailing in 
this city are too high — that is, we buy cheaper 
in New York than here." 

A. S. Barnett, steward Morton House, Grand 
Rapids, Michigan (Feb. 11, 1903): "In 



reply to your inqnirv in regard to what we 
would pay for squalls such as you have, we are 
paying $2.25 per doz^n. Should you consider 
our price an object, would be pleased to learn 
how many ycu could furnish a week." 

Hotel Schenlen, Pittsburg, Penn. (Feb. 10, 
1903): "Your squabs must be according to 
the weight and you should find a ready market 
for such stock. . Nice white squabs are bring- 
ing $3.50 today." 

Hotel Rider, Cambridge Springs, Penn. 
(Feb. 11, 1903): "We can pay you $2.25 per 
dozen for genuine squabs (no pigeons) de- 
livered here. Can use six or eight dozen at a 
time, but we do not want anything but young 
birds." 

E. A. Goodrich & Co., commission mer- 
chants, 103 South Water Street, Chicago, 
Illinois (Feb. 13, 1903) : "Your favor at 
hand. If you mean fat young pigeons that 
have left the nest and can fly, they are worth 
75 cents to $1 per dozen, and the trade wants 
them alive. (This is the way the trade in 
Boston wants them, but they pay more.) If 
you mean nestlings, or very young pigeons 
which have not left the nest and are unable to 
fly, we can get you $2 to $2.25 per dozen, 
dressed neatly. Either kind is good sale at 
prices named and can handle for you any 
quantity from five dozen to one hundrny 
dozen. If nestlings, tie in one-half dozen 
bunches packed in ice and ship by express." 

A FINAL WORD. Our object in printing 
the letters from marketmen and other squab 
buyers, in this appendix, is to convince any 
intelligent man or woman that there is a mar- 
ket for him, provided he goes to raising 
squabs, no matter where he lives. We have 
hundreds of similar letters on hand, but we 
have not room to print all, and we think we 
have printed enough. If you are not con- 
vinced by what we have printed that there 
is a paying market for squabs within five 
hundred miles of you, do not write to us and 
ask us to tell you the names and addresses 
of squab buyers in your town or city, or 
your county, for that we may not be able to 
do, but sit down at your writing desk, or go 
out in person, and find out for yourself. 

It is unnecessary to argue the squab mar- 
ket with any one of common sense who 
lives east of the Mississippi and Missouri 
rivers, and on the Pacific Coast, and within 
shipping distance of Denver. If you live in 
a barren territory or a foreign country, and 
wish to take up this subject with us, we will 
reply to the best of our ability, but remember 
that you are on the ground, and can find out 
such facts for yourself better than we can tell 
you. 

This Manual is intended to be a book of 
facts, backed up by evidence. If anybody has 
any additional facts as to squabs which will 
improve this Manual, we will be glad to con- 
sider same, and will pay for them if accepted 



APPENDIX B 



Many interesting points with regard to squab raising, the management 
of a plant, and so forth, are disclosed by the letters which we receive from 
customers, and the following pages will repay reading as showing the practical 
side of the business. 

The stories of success, letters from customers, which appear in this Appen- 
dix B, were received by us in 1905, along with hundreds of others of similar 
character. These show results duplicated over and over again by our cus- 
tomers, and they came to us in the ordinary run of business, day by day. 

We do not print the names and addresses of these customers. Many of 
them are regular buyers of our birds. We would advertise them as breeders 
to our loss. We guarantee the genuineness of the letters here printed, and will 
prove it in any way desired. The originals are on file at our office at Boston 
and may bv, seen there. 

Here are stories which tell of hardy, vigorous parent stock; of one-pound 
squabs; of quick results from a' small purchase; of flocks from us bred for 
years without a single death; of remarkable breeding qualities; of handsome 
Homers which attract admiration wherever they go; of prizes won at fairs; of 
excellence demonstrated over Homers of any breeding in every State; of many 
women who are making success with our birds ; of customers who started with 
small flocks and later bought of us by the hundred pairs; etc. 

See page 153 for the difference between sand and grit. Same page also for 
conditions in Florida. 

See page 1 55 for points about moulting. 

On page 157 read what a correspondent says about inbreeding, and the 
author's reply; also causes of failure in squab raising. 

More about the excellent market for squabs in the State of Washington is 
given on page 159. 

Breeding without having any sickness or deaths is told on pages 159 and 
160. 

The experience of a squab breeder with five hundred common pigeons 
is told on page 164. 

OUR PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS ARE great many pigeon fanciers. We have sold 

STRONG IN AND AROUND BRIDGETON, more Plymouth Rock Homers in this [Cum- 

NEW JERSEY, WHERE THERE ARE berlandl county, around Bridgeton, than any 

SOME CRITICAL BUYERS AND BREEDERS breeder or set of breeders in that county, 

—READ THIS LETTER FROM A CUSTOMER and the reason for it is just what our cus- 

IN SOUTH VINELAND. Will you kindly let tomer in South Vineland states above.) 
me know when is the best time for me to buy 

more pigeons, as those I bought of you three SAND IS NOT GRIT— CONDITIONS IN 

years ago are doing finely, and I am perfectly FLORIDA, AND SOMETHING ABOUT THE 

satisfied with them and I tell people where GREAT MARKET THERE. I have plenty 

I got them, and several persons told me they of beach sand and would like to know if you 

were going to send for some from you. There really need to ship me the grit, for I am going 

are lots of people come to see them, as *hey to cover the ground of the flying pen with 

are fine birds, and when I send for more I the sand. — J. S., Florida.^ 

want them mated like the ones I got before^ Answer: Gravel is grit, but sand is not 

but I will not send until I hear from you. I grit. It is all right to cover the ground of the 

got twenty-four pairs the last time. There flying pen with sand and use sand generally 

were two that died a little while after I got about the squab house. In Florida there is 

them, but that was all I lost. — O. W., New nothing but sand, and this is true of other 

Jersey. (This customer lives in South Vine- localities also. I wish everybody who has 

land, New Jersey, a few miles from Bridge- pigeons or poultry would read and remem- 

ton, New Jersey, and in this territory are a ber what I say about sand and grit. Sand 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

153 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



is the product of the washing of the ocean's 
waters. This incessant beating and washing 
have worn off all the sharp corners. As a 
matter of fact (as skillful breeders of poultry 
in Florida know), if the birds can get no grit 
and are forced to eat sand, then the sand 
which they eat packs tight within them, and 
if you cut open one which has died from 
some inexplicable cause, you will find the 
bunch of sand. It is not grit at all, and does 
not cut and grind the grain as grit does. 
This is the cause for many failures with 
poultry in Florida. — lack of grit. The 
breeder thinks he has grit all around him, 
when he has none. It is all right to cover 
the flying pen with sand; it is clean stuff and 
the pigeons will not eat it unless they are 
forced to by their owner's failure to provide 
grit. Make no mistake, pigeons can tell grit 
from sand. For further remarks on grit see 
Supplement to Manual. It is fully as im- 
portant as grain and grain is not good for 
anything without it. Just a word about the 
Florida squab outlook while I am answering 
this Florida query. I spent four months in 
the winter of 1905, in Dade County, three 
hundred miles south of Jacksonville, to get 
rid of a cough. I found three of my custom- 
ers in and around Palm Beach. One lived 
in Jupiter and was raising them all right 
but the market was not to his liking, and he 
was a good man, too. Another at Man- 
gonia, two miles from Palm Beach, was an 
experienced poultry man, and he was a good 
business man. Although well-to-do, he gets 
on his bicycle every day during the winter 
season and sells his poultry and eggs to the 
rich cottagers at first hand. You would not 
believe me if I told you what prices he gets. 
As for squabs, I state here with full knowledge 
of the facts, that any number of squabs may 
be sold in Palm Beach from January 1 to 
Aoril 1, for $1 apiece, $12 a dozen provided 
they are good squabs, such as Plymouth Rock 
Homers breed. The Hotel Royal Ponciana 
at Palm Beach (called the largest in the world) 
the winter I was there had fifty-two thousand 
separate names on its register in its three 
months' _ season. These were the richest 
people, in Florida for amusement, and ac- 
customed to the choicest table delicacies. 
This is only one hotel; there are many others, 
including the chain of great Flagler hotels 
from St. Augustine to Miami and Nassau. 
Who also in Florida has the business sense 
to see an opportunity and follow it up by 
providing these tens of thousands of rich 
northern people every winter with squabs? 
I always considered California the _ ideal 
climate for breeding squabs, but Florida is 
just as good; it is perpetual summer . there 
and the winter market beats anything I have 
ever seen or heard of. As for the summer 
and fall market, it is not good for much. If 
you must sell squabs and poultry then to keep 
a-going, you will have to ship North by the 



Clyde line, or else sell your goods to native 
folks at about half the price you get 
from northern sojourners in the winter. 

WOMAN HAS RAISED ONE HUNDRED 
PAIRS. Two years ago we bought some 
pigeons of you. We have some fine ones 
now, about two hundred, or one hundred 
pairs. — Mrs. W. B., Pennsylvania. 

BRED SATISFACTORILY ALL WINTER. 

Enclosed find money order for supplies, 
etc. I have some stock whose parents came 
from you and can say they are certainly all 
you claim for them. They have bred satis- 
torily all winter and bid fair to continue. — ■ 
R. A. S., Massachusetts. 

SYSTEM AND DIRECTIONS PERFECT. 

Your system and directions for handling 
birds are about perfect, and your Manual is 
almost indi p nsable for any one who is in the 
pigeon business. The drinking fountain, 
bath pan and nest bowls reached me. They 
are just what I have been looking for for a 
long time. — Mrs. H. J. S., Pennsylvania. 

VIRGINIA WOMAN ORDERS A SECOND 
LOT. My pigeons came safely Saturday 
morning and are exceedingly fine birds. I 
like them so much that I enclose remittance 
for another lot. — Miss A. M. D., Virginia. 

THEY PLEASE EVERYBODY. The one 

dozen pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers 
I received from you on November 9 are all 
doing well. Quite a number of persons have 
seen the birds and all seem to think them 
fine.— W. B. R., New York. 

RUGGED STOCK. HE HAS LOST BUT 
FEW EGGS AND BIRDS IN HIS EXPERI- 
ENCE. I now have in my flock about two 
hundred birds which are producing squabs 
rapidly and seem to be doing well. Have 
lost but few eggs or birds during my experi- 
ence. I have two parties figuring to buy 
me out. I have been enlarging my plant 
and will divide the flock unless I sell. I will 
send for more nest bowls in case I do not sell 
out. — H. H. Z., Missouri. 

STRENGTH AND VIGOR OF OUR STOCK 
SHOWN BY AN EXCELLENT JOURNEY 
TO CALIFORNIA. The pigeons you shipped 
me on the 2d reached me the 9th in excellent 
condition. The first thing they had after 
being put in the squab house was a bath, 
and I never saw anything more grateful 
than they seemed to be. I am glad you 
sent the extra pair of birds. I think the way 
the birds stood the long trying trip speaks 
volumes for the strength and vigor of the 
flock. Thank you for the promptness with 
which the order was filled. — Mrs. J. F. P., 
California. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 



154 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



SOON TO SEND FOR MORE BIRDS. 

Enclosed find money order for $2.88, for 
which please send to my address three dozen 
nest bowls for pigeons. My birds that I got 
of you last fall are doing well. Thanking 
you for past favors, and that soon I am send- 
ing for more birds. — Mrs. M. H. P., Con- 
necticut. 

PIGEONS WERE MOULTING. Can you 

explain to me why my birds start in and make 
their nests and then stop? They have done 
very little since October (it is now December). 
They are looking fine. They are all mated 
Their house is cleaned twice a week. They 
are free from lice. They have shell, salt and 
codfish in front of them all the time, no rats 
or mice to trouble them. I have about sixty. 
The house is twelve by thirty. The house is 
not cold. They have plenty of nest material. 
Not a sick or dumpish bird in the lot. If you 
can tell me what else I can do, you will con- 
fer a great favor. I bought my birds of you 
in May, twelve pairs. I have over sixty; do 
you think they have done well? — F. E. G., 
New York. 

Answer: If you had applied to one of the 
know-it-alls (who know nothing about pig- 
eons), he would have told you that your 
trouble came from the fact that you did not 
originally buy your birds from him, but the 
simple truth is that your birds were moult- 
ing late, and would not lay until through 
shedding their feathers and getting their 
new coats. 

GOOD GRAIN NEEDED FOR GOOD 
BIRDS. Enclosed find remittance for one 
hundred pounds best red wheat and one 
hundred pounds hempseed. I have had hard 
work to get good red wheat lately, and I find 
it poor practice to feed the inferior grain, as 
the birds scatter it all over the house, so 
thought I would try and get some from you. 
I think my birds are doing first class, and 
I intend to put in two or three more lots as 
soon as I can arrange for them. — C. E. B., 
New Hampshire . 

CONVINCED HIM THAT THEY ARE 
PROFITABLE. About a year ago I bought 
from you half a dozen pairs of Homer pigeons, 
and at present time they number over fifty 
birds. The way they have increased and the 
little, but necessary, care they need convinces 
me that they must be profitable. I enclose 
for you ten cents for the working plans for 
enlarged house, which I intend to build as soon 
as the weather permits, with the idea of stock- 
ing it in the early spring. — H. B. R., New York. 

MORE THAN PLEASED IN ARKANSAS. 

The pigeons that you shipped arrived here 
O. K. — twenty-six in all. Many thanks for 
the extra pair. They are doing fine, and I am 
more than pleased with them, and hope to 
send for more soon. — A. H., Arkansas. 



SATISFIED WITH SQUAB HOUSE AND 

BIRDS. The pigeons and also the letter 
stating they were shipped arrived yesterday 
morning at nine o'clock. This certainly was 
fast time from Bjston as the stamp of your 
letter showed 5.30 p.m., forty-eight hours 
previous. To say that we are pleased with the 
birds does not express it. They are certainly 
fine birds, and we will try to do our part to 
make a success of the business. We built our 
houses after the plans given in your squab 
book, and are well pleased with _ them. As 
soon as we get them painted we will send you 
photographs of them so you can see where we 
keep our birds and how we care for them. 
The birds were all in good shape and seem to 
have received good care from the express 
company. — H. A. B., Illinois. 

DOING NICELY. Enclosed find stamps 
for which please send me some aluminum tub- 
ing for leg bands. The birds we bought from 
you are doing nicely. — A. H. W., Pennsyl- 
vania. 

GOING TO SELL HIS COMMON PIGEONS 
—EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCKS THE BEST 
BREEDERS TO BE HAD. I have had pigeons 
only about a year. At present I have about 
seventy, half Homer and half common pig- 
eons. I am going to sell the common pigeons, 
and in the fall you shall have my order for 
breeders. 1 think your Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers are the best breeders that are to be had. 
Mrs. Street, who lives here has some of your 
Homers, and I think they are all you claim for 
them. — W. W. P., Arizona. 

FINE AND HEALTHY. Enclosed find 
$1.70 in two-cent stamps, for which please 
send me the leg-band outfit. My birds are 
doing very nicely. They look fine_ and are 
very healthy. — C. C. R., Pennsylvania. 

FIRST SHTPMENT DOING WELL, SO HE 
ORDERS ANOTHER. Enclosed find money 
order for which send eighteen pairs and four 
dozen nest-bowls. The first order of mine 
was received O. K. The birds are doing fine. 
— N. S. R., Iowa. 

FAST WORK— HAS NOT HAD HIS BIRDS 
A MONTH, BUT HAS PLENTY OF NESTS, 
AND SQUABS ARE DUE. I am very agree- 
ably surprised with the pigeons which you 
sent me. I received them on May 18. They 
were so quiet and seemed so much at home 
that I let them into the fly on the 22 d and had 
no trouble with them. They went in and out 
and did not have to bother with them. On 
May 24 I received the nest-bowls and put 
them in the house the same afternoon. The 
next dav one of them commenced to make a 
nest and lay. She is setting now and should 
hatch about the 16th of June; so I think I will 
have some squabs before I have had the pig- 
eons a month. I think this is pretty fast 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

155 



OUR PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS ARE BOUGHT AND BRED 
BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AT WASHINGTON 

The Plymouth Rock Homers are being bred by the United States Govern- 
ment at Washington successfully and satisfactorily, exactly according to our 
Manual and the directions which we give our thousands of customers. The 
Government buys our birds because they are the best. 

The first lot of our Extra Homers which we shipped Uncle Sam brought us 
back a letter from the superintendent saying: " The birds were in perfect 
condition with the exception of a single individual whose eye had been 
injured. I am very much pleased with the pigeons, which are certainly a fine 
lot." 

The birds did well and a return order for more birds came to us later from 
the Government, the order stating: " Referring to my letter of March 24, 
I have the pleasure to inform you that the pigeons received from you have 
now become satisfactorily established in their new quarters, and it seems that 
we can advantageously increase our stock." 

To fulfil the United States Government specifications, breeding stock 
shipped as per orders given us had to be not only the best of its kind, but 
absolutely healthy. One pigeon in the first shipment died after a time and 
the remains were turned over to the biological department of the Department 
of Agriculture, for a microscopical examination to discover germs of con- 
tagion. None was found, and the flock continued in rugged health. 

It is a compliment to us and a good advertisement for us, for the United 
States Government to buy our breeding stock. 

THE STATE OF WISCONSIN 

is another of our customers, having bought an outfit of both birds and sup- 
plies for its Northern Hospital for the Insane. 

We have supplied many well-known American families with squab- 
breeding flocks and outfits, including the Rockefellers, Carnegies, Goulds, etc. 
These very rich people, accustomed to the best table delicacies, breed their 
own squabs from our birds, because in this way only can they be assured of a 
steady supply of unvarying excellence, the markets and the breeders of 
ordinary squabs not being dependable. Some of our customers have exclu- 
sive contracts with rich families who take all they breed. One customer, a 
woman, supplies the Brandegees, multi-millionaires of Boston. The Carne- 
gies have a large estate in Florida. Three years ago we received a trial order 
for twelve pairs of our best birds from one of the ladies of this household. 
She did so well breeding squabs and was so well pleased with our birds, that 
the manager of the farm visited us in the summer of 1907 and gave us a large 
order for Plymouth Rock Homers and supplies which later we shipped to 

Florida. 

156 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



work. Several more are making nests and 
laying. I thank you very much for sending 
me the fine stock which you did. One of my 
friends told me the other day that he had 
written to you last fall about your pigeons 
but had never received an answer from you. 
I told him his letter must have miscarried. 
He is starting in the squab business with com- 
mon pigeons, and they will be likely to fail. 
My birds have been greatly admired by all that 
have seen them, and I hope to interest some 
of my friends in your Homers. Thank you 
for fair treatment. — E. W. T., New Jersey. 

BETTER HOMERS THAN THIS ILLINOIS 
CUSTOMER EXPECTED TO GET. My 

fifty pairs of pigeons arrived safe and sound 
yesterday. They are fine birds, better than I 
expected. The express was $5.05, which was 
reasonable enough. If these birds do well will 
order fifty pairs more in December. Thank 
you for your prompt and square way of doing 
business. — C. D. P., Illinois. 

HIS EXPERIENCE WITH RUNTS A 
FAILURE. I have been raising squabs from 
runt pigeons and have lost so much on them 
that I cannot afford to risk any more money 
on stock which may turn out to be as bad as 
some that has been passed off on me. Please 
give me your prices on your Extra Homers 
and nest-bowls. — G. W. M., Pennsylvania. 

PRETTY BIRDS IN TEXAS, ALWAYS 
HEALTHY, NEVER SICK. You will remem- 
ber that I bought six pairs of birds from you 
last July. I have now about twenty pairs on 
hand as nice and pretty birds as you ever saw, 
well marked. They are perfectly healthy, 
never sick. — Mrs. L. C, Texas. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS HAVE 
MORE THAN COME UP TO HIS EXPECTA- 
TIONS. My intentions are at present to give 
fifty pairs of your birds a thorough trial for one 
year, and if it proves successful I intend to 
move my place near New York City and then 
increase it to one thousand pairs to start with. 
The birds I received from you have more than 
come up to my expectations, and if the business 
moves along as it has I do not think I will " 
hesitate one moment next spring to increase 
my flock to the amount stated. Thank you 
for past favors. — J. D., New York. 

BREEDING WELL IN FLORIDA. En- 
closed find money order for $1.70 for which 
please send to me by mail your leg-band outfit. 
My birds are doing finely. I wish I had twice 
as many, but must be contented with these at 
present. The young squabs are leaving the 
nests every day or so. — G. A. G., Florida. 



LOUISIANA CUSTOMER BRED THEM. 

Enclosed herewith find money order for fifty 
cents, for which please send me your squab 
book also quote me your best prices on birds, 
drinking fountains, etc. You sold me twelve 
pairs of your pigeons and shipped them to 
Wilson, Louisiana, and I like them very much, 
and they did all you claim for them. — T. J. C, 
Louisiana. 

QUICK WORK IN OHIO. The birds ar- 
rived Saturday, May 6, and on Saturday the 
13th three had laid and were setting. Today, 
May 16, five are setting and one odd egg is in 
another nest without the nesting material. — 
C. G. A., Iowa. 

NO AILMENTS AND BREEDING SATIS- 
FACTORILY. The birds ordered of you on 
the 13th were received on the 16th, and find 
them the same as the other order — satis- 
factory in every respect. I also wish to thank 
you for the extra pair. My first order of 
birds, which I received from you five weeks 
ago, are doing finely — no pigeon ailments. I 
have squabs, and the maj ority of them are 
hatching.— D. & S., New York. 

SOMETHING ABOUT INBREEDING, TO- 
GETHER WITH REMARKS ON WHY SOME 
PEOPLE FAIL AT SQUAB BREEDING. 

Enclosed find draft for $40 for which please 
ship per Adams or Southern Express, to above 
address, twenty-four pairs Plymouth Rock 
Homer pigeons. Will want four times as 
many more if these prove satisfactory. I was 
quite interested in your National Standard 
Squab Book, but am a little inclined to criti- 
cise some statements. On page 41 , it seems to 
me it would be we VI to substitute gizzard, for 
crop, when describing the necessity for grit in 
the digestive process, and in your comments 
on inbreeding, you evidently lose sight of the 
fact that in all doves and pigeons, in the wild 
or natural state, the young hatch in pairs, 
male and female, almost invariably, and 
that they almost invariably mate, and have 
done so for centuries without deterioration. 
The Gentry swine, which took about all of the 
high prizes at St. Louis, have been inces- 
tuously inbred for twenty-five years. The 
Hart herd of Jerseys, finest in the State of 
Ohio, have been bred sire to daughter, son to 
mother, brother to sister for ten generations, 
and have constantly improved in size, vigor 
and productiveness. The Bishop merinos 
started with three animals and never had a 
drop of outside blood in forty years, and were 
then the finest in the world. So there is 
nothing to be feared from inbreeding if stock 
is well cared for and ordinary intelligence is' 
used!— H. R. C, Ohio. 

Answer: Good; I am glad to get that kind 
of a letter because it shows that the writer is 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

157 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



able to think for himself. However, I do not 
inbreed pigeons, and I do not think you have 
authority for making the sweeping statement 
that in a wild state the pigeons almost in- 
variably mate in pairs as they were hatched. 
I will prove that to you right now by asking 
you, Have you not seen male pigeons, both in 
a wild state and domesticated, fighting for the 
possession of a female? Certainly, we all 
have; it is an everj^-day occurrence among 
pigeons, depending on a hundred different 
notions which may form in the minds of the 
pigeons. This domination of the strongest 
and handsomest over the weakest and ugliest 
is the law of life among human beings as well 
as animals. This survival of the fittest would 
not be true if it was the law and the rule and 
the custom, call it what you will, for nest- 
mates to mate for the reason of propinquity 
alone. Now, as a matter of fact I know that 
there are a great many Homer fanciers in this 
country, mostly Englishmen, who have bred 
pigeons all their lives, who win prizes with 
Homers as well as other kinds of pigeons, 
which are the product of inbreeding. There 
are a dozen fanciers within fifty miles of my 
plant in Massachusetts who come to my place 
regularly and there pick out young birds which 
we band with seamless bands for them and 
sell them when weaned, and I know for a fact 
because some have told me so, that they take 
these birds and inbreed them. However, 
as a matter of business, it would not do for me 
or for anybody selling pigeons in the open 
market to inbreed them, because there is a 
sort of horror, a repugnance, among people 
generally, especiallv women, against that sort 
of thing. Nearly half my trade is among 
women, and I think that as a rule they master 
pigeons better than men, and I don't think I 
would sell to many women if I advocated 
and practised inbreeding. If you are a 
follower of poultry, you will read advice from, 
many theorists and impractical^ men, who 
work eight hours a day at something else, but 
who will sit at a desk in their evening hours 
and with a pen direct breeding operations for 
anybody offhand, and one of the stock re- 
marks of these folks, unable to follow their own 
ideas in breeding successfully is, when some 
one writes them that his or her pigeons are not 
raising young satisfactorily: "Your pigeons 
are probably inbred, and are worthless, being 
weak." It is a foolish and senseless remark, 
because it is a guess, and nothing more. In 
my Manual I decry inbreeding and, as I say, 
do not practise it, because I do not think it is 
nature's way. An animal wants a handsome 
and attractive, or otherwise satisfactory mate, 
and is willing to fight for it — this is nature's 
way. While I am on this subject, I will tell 
why people fail, as some do, with pigeons. 
There are generally men and women who have 
failed with poultry, and with everything. It 
is their fault, not the fault of the pigeons. If 
they start with pigeons, strong and rugged 



birds, it is up to thern to get results. I have 
seen people start with pigeons who absolutely 
could not get an egg or a squab to amount 
to anything for mont.is, and then sell out to 
somebody of sense and gumption who inside 
of a month would be doing so well with the 
birds that he would buy more. Is this sur- 
prising? Not if you have had much expe- 
rience with people and their habits. There is 
a large percentage of folks who cannot man- 
age their own eating and drinking right; their 
bowels are always out of order; they are dos- 
ing with patent medicines; they seldom or 
never bathe. Others who look after them- 
selves perhaps better cannot do the simplest 
things of life successfully; cannot write their 
names legibly; cannot compose a letter and 
address the envelope correctly; cannot man- 
age their children so as to hold their respect; 
cannot keep friends with their neighbors; can- 
not earn money, or cannot save it; and so on. 
Yet many of these people (and there are 
hundreds of them who turn to a new thing like 
squabs for the long-sought touchstone) will 
take hold of animal breeding, requiring at the 
outset, and all the time, the sterling qualities 
of patience and common sense, not to speak 
of some degree of skill which must be acquired, 
and then wonder why they fail. From squabs 
they go to bees, or vice versa, or to ginseng 
or pecan nuts, or truck gardening, or poultry, 
but never back again to something at which 
they have failed. The Creator put these 
things into the world, and the devil has put 
many temptations along too, to winnow out 
people, to separate by their own acts the wise 
from the foolish, the skilful from the unskilful, 
the good from the bad, etc. The acquisition 
of a flock of pigeons, or anything else, will not 
turn a poor tool into a good one. 

SPEAKS OF US IN HIGHEST TERMS. 

Enclosed find draft on New York in $10.25, 
for which please ship me four hundred pounds 
mixed pigeon grain. My Homers are doing 
nicely. I have only lost one more bird, two in 
all. Quite a number are laying, a few setting. 
It affords me pleasure to speak in the highest 
terms of the Plymouth Rock Squab Company. 
— W. B. W., Arkansas. 

ONE BIRD SICK, THE ONLY ONE IN A 
YEAR AND A HALF OF BREEDING. You 

no doubt remember me as one who purchased 
two lots of Homers from you a year ago last 
January. I am now prepared to sell squabs 
as my enclosed card will show you. I send 
you this card to show you that I have not been 
asleep in the business, and that I have given 
constant care to the flock ever since the first 
day I asked you, vVhat is a squab? Ha, ha. 
It makes me laugh to think that 1 was so 
green. I now have one good customei here 
who gives me $3 a dozen for them, but he says 
they are not selling very fast this time of 
year (May). Others said, when I presented 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

158 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



my card, that they would think it over and let 
me know. One fellow wanted to give me 
$2.10 per dozen: what do you think of that? 
He did not get them, I assure you. I have no 
other birds except those I received from you, 
and I have not had a sick one among them in 
the year and a half, with the exception of one 
that had a_ large lump on its wing. I painted 
this with iodine. It moped around for six 
weeks or more but now it and its faithful mate 
are building a nest. Here is a strange freak 
of nature which puzzles me. I have a pair of 
young birds that always lay four eggs. The 
first four did not hatch. Out of the next four 
they hatched one bird. The third, also four 
eggs and one bird. I have separated them as 
I found them to be nest mates. My object in 
writing this letter to you, besides informing 
you of my success thus far, is to ask for the 
address of some one, not too far from me, to 
whom I can sell my squabs at this time of the 
year. One man wrote to me and said he 
would buy all I raised "if I bought the breed- 
ers from him." But my first thoughts were, 
of course, to see you first. — F. B., Ohio. 
(We told this customer where to ship in New 
York City, and he shipped accordingly and 
received satisfactory prices). 

STARTED WITH 24 OF OUR BIRDS IN 
1902, AND NOW HAS 700 OF THE FINEST 

EVER SEEN. In July of 1902 I bought 
twenty-four birds, Homer pigeons for breed- 
ers, from you. I now have seven hundred of 
as fine-looking birds as any one ever saw and 
all full blooded for which I thank you for the 
good stock sent me. — C. E. L., Michigan. 

FIRST ORDER FOLLOWED BY A SECOND. 

The six pairs of pigeons were received O. K. 
Enclosed please find New York draft for 
$21.92, for which please send me twelve pairs 
Homers and two dozen nest-bowls. — D. C. S., 
Minnesota. (A third order followed inside of 
a month from this customer.) 

SQUABS SURPASSING ALL EXPECTA- 
TIONS AND BRINGING $5.50 PER DOZEN. 

Could you furnish me with a price-list of breed- 
ing stock and supplies as I have iaisplaced the 
one you sent me last spring with ray National 
Standard Squab Book. I desire to state that 
the Homers are surpassing all expectations 
along the line of squabs and I have been 
getting as high as $5.50 for them in New York. 
Wishing you continued success in your honest 
dealings.— A. H. T., Ohio. 

FHAST ORDER QUICKLY FOLLOWED 
BY ANOTHER. The twenty-four pairs of 
Extra Homers were received in good form as 
you know, and are so satisfactory that I de- 
sire to duplicate the order and enclose here- 
with an Adams Express money order. Please 
send us twenty-four pairs as good as the 
others as soon as possible. — G. P. W., Con- 
necticut. 



FLOCK DOUBLED IN THREE WINTER 
MONTHS. I bought some pigeons from you 
about Christmas. I am pleased more than 
I expected to be with them. They are doing 
nicely. I have doubled my lot with squabs 
from them. I want to ask you if it would 
be safe to let them out into the flying pen 
now. You see I have had them about three 
months now. — A. S., Virginia. 

THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IS CER- 
TAINLY ALL RIGHT FOR SQUAB BREED- 
ING — WE ARE SHD?PING THERE STEAD- 
ILY. Enclosed you will find a Great North- 
ern Express money order for $80, for which I 
want you to ship me forty-eight pairs of your 
thoroughbred Homers as soon as possible for 
you to do so. I sent some time ago to you 
for a free book on squab raising and since 
then have read up your National Standard 
Squab Book on squabs and looked up the 
markets in Seattle and Everett. I find that 
there is a better market for squabs than any- 
thing else I know of at present, and I am going 
to devote all my time to raising them. I have 
a building almost completed for the first 
forty-eight pairs. Just as soon as I get them 
settled to business I will send for forty-eight 
pairs more. I have seen two or three flocks 
of your birds near Seattle and must say they 
look like business if given half a chance. The 
owners seemed well satisfied with them, but 
I think they would be more so if the birds 
were given the right attention, which they 
did not look to have. — G. T., State of Wash- 
ington. 

• BEST LOOKING BIRDS THE EXPRESS- 
MAN HAD EVER SEEN. The birds arrived 
here yesterday in good order. They are 
beauties. The expressman said that they 
had lots of birds pass through here, but these 
were the best he had ever seen. Thank you 
for the extra two pairs which you sent, and 
for such fine birds. I shall build a fifteen or 
twenty unit house jus* as soon as it gets a 
little warmer, and I shall want a lot of your 
best Extras to fill it; none but the best for 
me. — H. A. D., Massachusetts. 

WANTS THE PURE STOCK. You will 
soon get another order from me, because I 
want the pure stock and the Plymouth Rock 
Squab Company is the only place to get them. 
— A. C. F., Oregon. 

MANUAL GOOD, SANE AND PRACTICAL 
—MODEL OF GOOD ENGLISH— GOOD 
WORK APPRECIATED. I have your favor 
of the 19th inst., also the Manual, and beg to 
thank you for both. I have read your book 
very carefully. It is not one of my habits 
to go out of the ordinary course in matters 
of business; but I think I know good, sane, 
practical work of almost any kind when I 
see it. If you will ailow me to say so, your 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

159 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



Manual is, from every point of view, that is, 
as a business book, a model of the rare thing 
called " good " English, and almost as a 
Naturalist's standard work — the best thing 
I ever saw. This letter does not call for re- 
ply, but it does no harm to any one to know 
that a good piece of his work is recognized 
and appreciated by some one else who believes 
in and strives to do good work himself. I 
wish you continued success. — F. G. A., San 
Francisco. 

HIS NEIGHBOR HAS DONE WELL FOR 
NINE MONTHS AND WILL NOT SELL ANY. 

The pigeons came two hours ahead of your 
letter informing me of the shipment. They 
arrived in fine condition, had plenty of feed 
and water, and were delivered promptly, 
and I am pleased with them. They are 
beauties. My neighbor, Mr. Cole, bought six 
pairs from you last June- and now, nine 
months later, has nearly fifty pigeons, and 
will not sell one of them at any price. I 
tried all over this city of sixty thousand peo- 
ple to buy six pairs of pigeons and could find 
only one pair for sale. I return basket today. 
Please accept thanks for your prompt de- 
livery.— R. M. T., Ohio. 

TREATED IN AN HONEST AND GEN- 
EROUS MANNER. My pigeons arrived 
yesterday morning in perfect condition and 
I am delighted with .them. They are beau- 
ties, and I want to say you have kept your 
word to the letter and treated me in an hon- 
est and generous manner. Return basket 
today. — Mrs. A. L., Illinois. 

HE IS PROUD OF HIS FIRST PUR- 
CHASE. My pigeons arrived safely Satur- 
day in fine shape, not even soiled. I am very 
m ich pleased with them and thank you for the 
extra pair. They are a fine lot of birds, and 
I am proud of them. You will hear from me 
from time to time. — V. M., Virginia. 

CANADIAN CUSTOMERS PLEASED. I 

take pleasure in letting you know we received 
our stock in very good condition. We re- 
ceived them one day before we got your let- 
ter. We got them home and with much sur- 
prise we counted fourteen instead of twelve. 
We return many thanks to you for your 
kindness and liberality. They are doing 
nicely. at present. They are lovely birds. — 
L. B. S., Ontario, Canada. 

FIFTY PAIRS TO START— THESE DID 
WELL ENOUGH TO MAKE THE CUS- 
TOMER RUN HIS ORDER UP TO THREE 
HUNDRED PAIRS IN THREE MONTHS. 

Enclosed find check for $125, for which 
please send us fifty pairs of your extra breed- 
ing stock. Hoping same will be satisfactory, 
and if pleased with stock will probably want 
more soon. Please ship first of next week if 



convenient. (Three months later.) En- 
closed find check for S385, for which please 
send me two hundred and fifty pairs Extra 
Homer breeding pigeons. I have taken credit 
of $40 on the first order as I was informed at 
your office when down there, if the order was 
made three hundred pairs within three months 
I could have a rebate on them. Hope this is 
satisfactory. — C. W. P., Rhode Island. 

BEST BIRDS EVER SEEN IN NEW 
JERSEY. The birds you shipped me are a 
fine-looking lot, and I think are the best I 
have ever seen. — H. J. F., New Jersey. 

FILL REPRESENTATIONS TO THE LET- 
TER. The pigeons arrived safe and sound. 
They fill your representations to the letter. 
I am more than pleased with them and wish 
you all the success that honest dealing en- 
titles you to. — C. A. V., New York. 

HE EXHIBITED HIS PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS AT THE FAIR AND WON 
WITH THEM. I took some of my pigeons 
bought of you to our Fair and got first and 
second premiums. I have taken good care 
of them. — W. A. C, New York. 

" WHAT FINE BIRDS, AND HOW 
LARGE THEY ARE." I received the pig- 
eons all right. Every one who sees the birds 
says, " What fine birds, and how large they 
are. I never saw such large pigeons before !" 
and it is just what I think. Thank you for 
sending such fine birds. — S. L., Michigan. 

TO FLORIDA IN FINE CONDITION. I 

received the birds shipped by you to me last 
Friday, having made the trip in fine condi- 
tion, and I feel proud of them. They are 
certainly beauties. — A. C. H., Florida. 

HE HAS NOT LOST A BIRD, YOUNG OR 
OLD, IN BREEDING FROM PLYMOUTH 
ROCK STOCK. Will you please give me 
address of parties who buy pigeon manure? 
The birds purchased of you one year ago 
next month have done well. I have not dis- 
posed of any and have not lost one young or 
old. It has caused considerable talk here- 
about, for many parties have pigeons and 
have lost many of them. Newcomb who 
bought a few of you on my advice, told me 
he wished he had bought all of you. but he 
bought of several other sources and has been 
dissatisfied. I have about completed my 
big house and shall soon call on you for more 
birds. — A. P., Massachusetts. 

THIS WOMAN IN CONNECTICUT OUT- 
GREW ONE HOUSE AND BUILT UP INTO A 
FINE PLANT. It is some time since you 
heard from me and so I will write a few lines to 
show how I am getting along with my pig- 
eons. They are doing fine. I have squabs all 
ages. I have about thirty-five pairs of old 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

160 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



ones. I have put up a large house for them. 
The other one was not large enough, so when I 
get them in a large place, I think I will have a 
fine plant. — Mrs. M. K., Connecticut. 

ANOTHER WOMAN HAS INCREASED 
HER FLOCK FROM 25 PAIRS TO 275 BIRDS 

IN A YEAR, You will recall that I purchased 
twenty-five pairs of breeding stock from you 
about one year ago. They are all doing 
nicely now and I have about two hundred and 
seventy-five birds, ail in fine condition. — Mrs. 
J. F., Connecticut. 

GOING TO BRANCH OUT. My birds 
bought of you are doing fine and I am going to 
branch out into the business I will move 
from New Hampshire to Bridgewater, Mass., 
in the spring and build a large house and put 
in all your birds. — H. G., New Hampshire. 

LARGE FLOCK RAISED FROM A START 
WITH SIX PAUAS EXTRA. I would like one 
hundred bands from you, as I need them now 
for young birds. The six pairs Extra I 
bought of you March 23, 1903, have done fine, 
and I have a large flock raised from them. — 
L. B. R. B., Massachusetts. 

BREEDING ALL THE TIME IN MAINE. I 

have got about one hundred birds now, all 
raised from those I bought from you last 
spring. They are all right, healthy and breed- 
ing all the time. — J. W. S., Maine. 

GONE TO WORK IN A NEW HOME IN 
DEAD EARNEST. The nappies arrived all 
right, and we are well pleased with them. 
Our birds have gone to work in their new 
forty-foot house in dead earnest. Enclosed 
please find Pacific Express money order, for 
which please ship us by express No. 1 Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers and Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers as specified. Kindly rush this 
order. — J. A. P., Missouri. 

WORKING RIGHT ALONG IN ALABAMA. 

Enclosed you will find a post-office order 
amounting to $15 for which please send me 
six pairs of Extra Homers. This is my second 
order and I will expect some extra fine birds. 
The birds purchased of you last February are 
working right along. — B. W., Alabama. 

THIS MAN HAD SOME FINE HOMERS, 
BUT WHEN HE SAW THE PLYMOUTH 
ROCKS HE HAD TO WILT. Our birds are 
doing fine and breeding rapidly. There is a 
man about one and a half miles from our place 
who thought he could not be beat with his 
crowd of pigeons, but I invited him to my 
place and showed him my birds. He gave in 
right away; he was not in it alongside of my 
birds. The size of my squabs at three or four 
weeks set him a-guessing. He wanted to buy 



of me right away, but no, I told him he should 
purchase from Boston, for I did not have 
enough myself /et. I have a pair I do not 
think four months 'old yet, and they set and 
have a pair of splendid squabs out just burst- 
ing with flesh. A person would be surprised 
to see the flock that I have out of the small 
number of birds that I bought last fall in 
September. — J. B., New York. 

FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS AND THE 
BIRDS WERE QUICKLY NEST BUILDING. 
Please pardon my delay in not announcing the 
safe arrival of the thirteen pairs of fine Homer 
pigeons. I followed your directions as near 
as I could, and I am glad to say the birds are 
already laying and building nests. I returned 
the basket today... I understand that my 
brother ordered twelve pahs of birds for me, 
but thirteen came. Please accept thanks for 
the extra pair. — Mrs. D. W. S., Georgia. 

STARTED IN 1902 WITH OUR BIRDS AND 
HAS A FINE FLOCK NOW. In October, 
1902, you sent me at Oak Park, Illinois, forty- 
eight pairs. I came to this place two years 
ago and now have my lofts filled and am ready 
to sell. I have three hundred pairs mated and 
at work. They are as nice birds as you sent 
me. — H. W. C, Michigan. 

BIRDS PROVING THEMSELVES VERY 
SUCCESSFUL. Being pleased with the 
Homers you sent us and finding we have room 
in our building for another dozen birds, we 
forward you an express money order for 
$16.92, for which forward six pairs of Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers and two dozen nest- 
bowls. The birds are proving themselves 
very successful. Already we have five pairs 
on nests. — I. D., New York. 

INSTRUCTIONS CLEAR— AND PEOPLE 
WHO FOLLOW THEM ARE SUCCESSFUL. 

I have your instruction book, the National 
Standard Squab Book. It is the clearest 
thing in the way of a guide book that I have 
ever seen. — C. F. W., Oregon. 

STARTED WITH EIGHT PAIRS EXTRA 
AND NOW HAS FORTY-FOUR. Enclosed 
find fifty cents for which please send me at 
once that much leg-banding material. I need 
the leg-banding material badly. My birds are 
just simply doing fine. I have eighty-eight 
fine birds now. I think that is doing finely 
for the time I have had them, and had such a 
few to start on. I started with eight pairs. 
— Miss S. S. G., Louisiana. 

THE VERY FINEST. The pigeons arrived 
on time and in good shape. We had some 
very fine birds but no better than these. 
Thank you for your prompt attention. — A. E. 
B., Pennsylvania. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

161 



OUR PIGEONS SHIPPED NINE THOUSAND MILES, ALL ARRIVING 
ALIVE; ONLY TWO OUT OF CONDITION 

Elmer C. Rice, Esq., Treasurer, 

Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, Mass., U. S. A. 
Dear Sir: On the 20th of this month I had the pleasure of receiving the 
fourteen pairs of Plymouth Rock Homer pigeons. They were in fine condi- 
tion and had been well looked after on the voyage, which lasted fifty-five 
days, from New York to Colombo. There had been some wars amongst the 
pigeons on the voyage ; and two were more or less mauled, but they had been 
kept separate and will, no doubt, do quite well. I am very much pleased with 
them and thank you again for your kindness. 

Yours truly, 

(Mrs.) F. I. SINCLAIR. 
Colombo, Ceylon, September 28, 1907. 

Note by E. C. Rice: With regard to the distance covered by the above 
shipment, the agents of the steamship company write me as follows: " The 
actual nautical miles from New York to Colombo are about 8600, and the SS. 
Swazi before arriving at Colombo stopped at Algiers, Port Said, Aden, Tuti- 
corin and other ports, which brings the total nautical miles up to about 9000." 



The following is from the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post: 

MONEY IN SQUABS — The Government gives a practical demonstration of 
what they can be made to pay. 

It has long been known by practical breeders of poultry that there is 
money in raising squabs. Now the United States Government has given to 
this fact official confirmation, based on scientific tests. 

The record of profit reveals the great opportunity awaiting those who 
engage in this industry. In the practical experiments conducted the diet of 
the birds consisted of wheat at eighty cents a bushel, sifted cracked corn at $1 
a hundred weight, Kaffir corn at ninety cents a bushel, millet at ninety cents, 
hemp at $1.30 and peas at $1.10 the bushel. At these rates the cost of feeding 
was one-seventh of a cent a day for each bird, or about fifty- two cents a year. 

On that basis the net annual return was $1.50 a pair. There were four 
hundred and twenty-five pairs of pigeons in the flock and they reared four 
thousand four hundred marketable squabs in twelve months. 

This is a practical, conservative record, bearing the government's bona 
fides, and may be duplicated by any one who will carefully attend to the 
requirements of the birds. 

162 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



PLEASED, AND ORDERS MORE SUP- 
PLIES. I herewith enclose $2.46 in express 
money order for which send me by Adams 
Express two drinking fountains and one dozen 
wood fibre nest-bowls. The birds which I 
received from you last fall are doing fine. I 
am well pleased with them. — A. E. B., Penn- 
sylvania. 

SQUABS ARE HEAVY. I write you enclos- 
ing $1.50, for which please send me your 
Manual and one dollar's worth of the best 
kind of leg bands for pigeons. I have about 
four hundred pigeons. The stock came 
directly from the Plymouth Rock Squab Com- 
pany by Mr. Hulet. He sold out and went 
East and I bought his entire stock. They are 
fine. The squabs get like stones. When 
people ask me about my stock I tell them they 
are from the Plymouth Rock Squab Company. 
Am I right? If I am not, tell me and I will 
quit it. — J. A. M., State of Washington. 

SIX WEEKS' WORK. In taking account 
of stock today I find I have sixty-eight nests 
containing sixty-two squabs, the oldest just 
two weeks old, and fifty-six eggs. Do you 
consider this a fair showing for the one hun- 
dred and thirty-seven pairs of birds I received 
from you about six weeks ago? One female 
bird died. I wish to thank you for the extra 
birds sent along to cover this emergency. — 
E. E. T., New Jersey. 

Answer: Yes, we consider this a fair showing 
for six weeks. Do not believe any stories you 
hear or see printed that the dealer or writer 
can sell pigeons which will go to work at once 
as soon as they reach their new home. Some 
may and some may not, but this is a matter 
which is settled by the pigeons themselves, 
and_ anybody attempting to control the mat- 
ter is a pretender. 

PLEASED WITH SECOND ORDER. The 

second order of pigeons came in good shape 
and the crate will be sent back today. We 
are very much pleased with the birds.— G. P. 
W. , Connecticut. 

SMALL SHIPMENT DOES WELL; HE 
ACCORDINGLY ORDERS 300 PAIRS OF 
EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. 

The pigeons you shipped me arrived in good 
condition with one exception, that is, one 
bird seems a little inactive or dumpy. Will 
advise you later if the bird does not pick up. 
(Later). Herewith please find check for 
$67.17 for which you will send me by freight 
at once the following bird supplies: Six 
hundred and twenty-four wood fibre bowls, 
thirty bath pans, nine drinking fountains, 
one spraver. You may expect an order 
from me July 15 for the three hundred Extra 
Homers as per yours of May 15. — J. R., Ohio. 

HANDSOMEST LOT OF PIGEONS THIS 



PENNSYLVANIA BREEDER HAS EVER 

SEEN. My flock consists of in the neighbor- 
hood of one hundred and fifty pairs, and in- 
cludes twenty-four pairs of the best Homers, 
which I purchased of you in August, 1902 
for $60. The balance of the flock i^ bred 
from these birds, and they are the handsomest 
lot of pigeons I have ever seen. — C. L., Penn- 
sylvania. 

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RAIL 
JOURNEY TO NORTHWEST TERRITORY, 
CANADA. The thirteen pairs of Homers 
and one dozen nesting bowls you shipped 
May 27 arrived in condition June 2, being 
six days en route. They have a good home 
and I wil send you another order soon. The 
barrel of freight shipped May 16 has not ar- 
rived yet. Thank you for prompt and court- 
eous treatment. — E. L. B., Northwest Ter- 
ritory, Canada. 

WHITE WHEAT AND RED WHEAT. 

Would it be all right to feed my birds white 
wheat? I have much trouble getting red 
wheat. I wish you would tell me, as I do 
not wish to run any chances, as my birds are 
doing fine. I have twelve youngsters. The 
first hatch is setting again, also the second 
and third hatch. If I would run any risk 
in feeding white wheat let me know. — W. 
G. S., Michigan. 

Answer: White wheat is all right, and is 
fed by most of our customers. If there is 
any tendency to looseness caused by feeding 
white wheat instead of red wheat use it spar- 
ingly, or feed rice to offset. 

CUSTOMER OF THREE YEARS' 
STANDING HAS RAISED THEM RAP- 
IDLY. The original birds which I bought of 
you nearly three years ago have increased so 
rapidly that it has been quite a task to care 
for them and to dispose of the squabs. I 
have always spoken a good word for the busi- 
ness and your company in particular, and 
without dou t have made business for you. 
— H. C, Michigan. 

HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF HIS 
FRIENDS. The five pigeons you sent to 
replace the four I returned and the one that 
died were received today in good condition, 
and I take pleasure in reporting that they 
are entirely satisfactory, unless one should 
prove to be a cock; but evsn if that is the 
case I shall enter no complaint, as you have 
been so entirely fair. I am very much pleased 
with the birds and expect good results from 
them. Mv friends who were not pleased 
with the first lot I ordered and received some 
white Homers from a dealer in your State, 
but are far from pleased with them. They 
now think that I have the advantage of them, 
and have been well treated by you. I shall 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

163 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



certainly have a good word for you when an 
occasion offers. — R. H. S., Kentucky. 

STARTED WITH EIGHTY PAIRS EX- 
TRA, BRED THEM TO FIVE HUNDRED 
PAIRS. What will you give me for my en- 
tire stock of Homer pigeons? I have from 
one thousand to twelve hundred birds, all 
strong and healthy, and from your best stock 
of birds. I am compelled to sell for the 
reason that I have taken this hotel and it 
takes all my time to look after it. Hope to 
hear from you by return mail. — H. C. 
F., Missouri. (This customer started with 
eighty pairs of our Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers.) 

HAS 150 PAIRS OF THE FINEST HOM- 
ERS IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. About 
a year and one-half ago I bought fifty pairs 
of your Homer pigeons. I have now one 
hundred and fifty pairs of the finest Homers 
in Colorado. Fifty pairs are the original 
ones that I got from you; the rest I have 
saved from my young ones. — D. L., Colorado. 

BOTHERED BY MICE. I wrote you that 
my birds were not doing well. Since writ- 
ing the same two hens are setting, and from 
the amount of driving going on I hope to 
have them all at work in a few weeks. Since 
my last letter to you I have been setting 
traps and have caught seven or eight mice. 
I suppose that is what has been bothering 
them. — F. H. M., Tennessee. 

DEATH OF AN OLD AND VALUED 
CUSTOMER. My brother-in-law having died 
very suddenly in New York, three weeks 
ago, where he had gone a few days on busi- 
ness, his squabbery is left without any one to 
carry it on. The Homers he got of you two 
summers ago, in 1903, two dozen pairs, have 
done very well indeed, owing to the excellent 
care he gave them. They were for his own 
pleasure, so he has not sold any squabs, but 
used them for the table and to send to friends. 
I should think there are nearly two hundred 
birds in the two pens at present. What 
prices should I ask for them? I have writ- 
ten to you knowing what confidence my 
brother-in-law had in your judgment, and 
that unde/ the circumstances you could help 
me dispose of the pigeons advantageously. — 
Miss G. M., Maine. 

TREATED FINELY — SQUARE DEAL- 
ING. In reply to my inquiry I received your 
answer which was very satisfactory, and 
have shown it to some of my friends who 
thought that I had been fooled in buying of 
you. They now think that I have been 
treated finely by you. I will say that I ap- 
preciate your square dealing and will speak 
a good word for you, as there are quite a 
number here that are going into the busi- 



ness, who have been watching the results of 
mine. — W. W., Rhode Island. 

STARTED WITH FIVE HUNDRED 
COMMON PIGEONS AND MADE A FAIL- 
URE. A short time ago we put up a build- 
ing after the plans which I purchased of you, 
and put in five hundred and twenty common 
pigeons. Since then we have discovered 
that we made a mistake. The flock is a 
failure in more ways than one. We got one 
hundred and sixty-two pairs of birds from a 
party we did not know, and the birds were 
sick when we got them. We received them 
on a Saturday afternoon, and on Monday 
they were dying. After losing quite a few, 
the cause of which we were not able to ascer- 
tain, we have finally decided to start over 
again. We are going to put in Homers and 
start on a more cautious scale. We are go- 
ing to get rid of all these birds, clean out the 
building and start anew. We have tried 
the common pigeons and have been convinced 
that they are not the right stock. As we 
are new in the business we have a great deal 
to learn, and will have to get our informa- 
tion from those who we are sure do know. 
Remember, we are willing to pay for the in- 
formation. If there is any charge please 
name the price and we will remit. We are 
beginners and would like to make a success 
of the business, and do not expect to get for 
nothing information that has probably cost 
some one both time and money. — J. D. C, 
Pennsylvania. 

Answer: We do not think you read our 
Manual before buying your common pigeons, 
or if you did, what we say about common 
pigeons there must have escaped your atten- 
tion. Common pigeons are useless in com- 
parison with Plymouth Rock Homers, and it 
is unwise to experiment with them. 

GEORGIA PREACHER FINDS THEM 
SPLENDID. Enclosed I send you post- 
office money order, for which please send me 
one leg band outfit. The birds you sent me 
are doing splendid. — Rev. L. H. H., Georgia. 

SECOND SHIPMENT— FIRST LOT IS 
HARD AT WORK. Enclosed find express 
money order for $20. Please express to my 
address twelve pairs Homer pigeons. The 
first l^t you expressed to me is hard at 
work and making fine headway. — G. F. T., 
Alabama. 

INCREASED FROM TWELVE PAIRS 
TO TWO HUNDRED PAIRS IN TWENTY 
MONTHS. I have somewhat about four 
hundred pigeons that are most all bred from 
your best stock. They are a nice lot of birds. 
I started with twelve pairs of your Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers twenty months ago. 
— G. P., Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 



164 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



THREE HUNDRED PAIRS SHIPPED TO 
THIS CUSTOMER, EVERY BIRD IN THE 
BEST OF CONDITION. Your favor of the 
11th inst. received on my return home Friday 
night, and would have been answered but for 
the fact that 1 had quite a busy time, partially 
through outside business and partly on ac- 
count of arrival of the birds. I wish to tender 
my most hearty thanks for the manner in 
which you have carried out your part of the 
transaction. Every one of the 312 pairs of 
birds seems to be perfect in every respect, and 
they have already been admired by every one 
who has seen them. The twelve pairs Extra 
which you so generously presented me for my 
nephew have been forwarded to him, and I 
feel sure will greatly please him. I shall see 
him possiblv Monday next week on my next 
trip, and will thoroughly instruct him. Once 
in a great while I get to Boston. Next time I 
am there I shall do myself the honor of calling 
on you to see your plant, so I can enlarge mine 
on the same lines or at least get s jme ideas of 
that end. Thank you again most heartily — 
G. F., New York. 

GOOD LUCK WITH THEM IN NEBRASKA. 

I bought twelve Homer pigeons, or six pairs, 
of you nearly a year ago, with which I have 
had fairly good luck, and I may order more 
birds of you in the future, as I intend enlarg- 
ing my plant soon. But I want to ask a 
favor of you today. It is this: Will you give 
me, on the enclosed card, the name of the 
tanning company to whom you sell your pig- 
eon manure? — L. S. M., Nebraska. 

BIRDS BREEDING WELL. Please find 
enclosed express money order for $5.34, for 
which ship me by Wells-Fargo Express four 
dozen nest-bowls and leg-band outfits. My 
birds are doing very well. I have twelve 
squabs.— H. H. S., New York. 

SECOND ORDER TO COME BECAUSE OF 
GOOD WORK IN MARYLAND. We enclose 
you herewith check for $11.52. Will you 
kindly send us at your earliest convenience 
twelve dozen nest-bowls r We are glad to 
report that the pigeons received from you a 
few months ago are doing nicely and we expect 
to order more shortly. — M. P. F., Maryland. 

THIRD ORDER FROM INDIANA MAN. 
Please ship me at once twelve pairs. I en- 
close draft f r same. This is my third order. — 
V. N., Indiana. 

SECOND ORDER FROM ILLINOIS WOM- 
AN. Please find enclosed express order for 
$30. Send me twelve pairs of Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers. This is my second order. — 
Mrs. J. W. G., Illinois. 

A MINISTER ENCOURAGED TO GO 
AHEAD. The pigeons I purchased of you 



last August (nine months ago) are doing well, 
but I have so far found it impossible to go into 
the house for rive minutes or so without all 
the birds leaving the nests. Can you tell me 
how to obviate this? Will you be kind 
enough to inform me about how much money 
it will take to build a house including heating 
plant and flying pens in first-class shape for 
fifteen hundred pairs of birds? You will 
greatly oblige me. — Rev. L.C.H.A., New York. 

SECOND ORDER; FIRST SHIPMENT 
WORKING WELL. Enclosed please find 
Adams Express money order for $15.96 to 
pay for six pairs Extra Plymouth Rock Hom- 
ers for squab raising, and one dozen bowls. 
The birds first bought are doing well, and I 
am well pleased with them. — L. D. P., Illinois. 

SECOND ORDER WITHIN ONE MONTH. 

Herewith find draft for $40.75, for which 
please send me two crates of your Homer 
pigeons and one drinking fountain, by Ameri- 
can Express, to my address. This is my 
second order within one month. I am well 
pleased with the first shipment. — L. D., Iowa. 

GOOD SHOWING MADE BY OUR BIRDS 
IN ONE MONTH AFTER ARRIVAL. I am 

having such good luck I thought I would 
write you about it. Just one month ago to- 
day the 9th of May, I received my thirteen 
pairs of birds from you. I now have eight 
squabs from four pairs, and six more pairs 
setting. The two hens that were in bad shape 
upon arrival are getting better, but have not 
nested yet, and the thirteenth hen I think is 
going light from too hard driving by the cock. 
He drove her all the time and pulled out half 
her feathers, but he has mated with another 
hen now and doesn't bother any. What do 
you think of this for so short a time ? I have 
as fine a home for them as can be built — built 
just as you say with a fly ten by ten by twenty 
feet, with a big load of lake sand for the floor, 
and keep the squab house cleaner than lots of 
kitchens I know of. — C. G. A., Iowa. 

EXCELLENT BIRDS AND EXCELLENT 
CARE FROM MELROSE TO NEW MEXICO. 

The pigeons arrived safely last Saturday even- 
ing; each and every one of them was in perfect 
trim and must have had excellent care on the 
way, as not one seemed in the least discom- 
posed by the six days' journey. Your kind- 
ness in sending us the extra pair I do assure 
you is most highly appreciated. We are 
delighted with the bi ds and as soon as I return 
from my summer and fall trip, will send you a 
large order. — Mrs. T. H., New Mexico. 

IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. You 

will find stamps to the amount of $2 for which 
kindly mail me one hundred aluminum V- 
shaped leg bands for pigeons. I am glad to 
tell you that the pigeons are doing nicely. — 
G. A. T.. Washington. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

165 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



THIS WOMAN IS POSTMASTER IN HER 
TOWN— SHE STARTED IN 1903 WITH OUR 
BIRDS AiVD THIS IS WHAT SHE HAS 
DONE. In July, 1903, I purchased a few- 
birds from you. I have bought no others but 
have now got over a hundred and would like 
some advice relative to shipping squabs. 
Will it pay to ship one or two dozen at a time 
to Boston, and will you tell me who would be 
reliable parties to ship to ? As I told you in 
my first letter, this is a somewhat isolated 
place; however, there are quite a number 
watching my experiment, as I have the only 
store here and have recently been appointed 
postmaster. Every one notices the birds and 
my success will probably bring you orders. 1 
have lost only one bird and that one by acci- 
dent; no sickness or lice in my flock at any 
time. — Miss L. K., New Hampshire. 

PLEASED WITH FIRST LOT.WHX OR- 
DER ANOTHER. I am so well pleased with 
the coop of birds shipped me that as soon as I 
get my house built and nappies in, will order 
another coop of your highest-priced birds. — 
R. H. N., Georgia. 

AN IMPORTANT STORY TOLD IN FEW 
WORDS— THIS CUSTOMER IN PENNSYL- 
VANIA FOUND A LARGE FLOCK OF 
PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS BY HIS 
EXPERIENCE BEYOND REPROACH. 
Please ship balance of my order of Extra 
Homers (one hundred pairs due me) at earliest 
moment. Kindly telegraph night of ship- 
ment. The first lot (two hundred pairs) are 
beyond reproach. — C. K., Pennsylvania. 

REACHED TEXAS IN GOOD SHAPE- 
CUSTOMER SATISFIED. I beg to advise 
you that the pigeons reached here yesterday 
all in good shape. So far I am very much 
pleased with them and with your prompt 
shipment and good treatment. I hope to send 
you another order soon for a dozen pairs. — 
A. G. M., Texas. 

ALL AND MORE THAN EXPECTED. On 

Saturday I went out to my country place and 
found the pigeons. They are all and more 
than I expected and are in every way satis- 
factory. I presume my man will return the 
empty pigeon crates this week. — H. A. K., 
Illinois. 

SQUABS FROM OUR EXTRA PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS WEIGHING 10K, 10^ 
AND WA POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. My 
first shipment of squabs will be made April 
11. So far my squabs have averaged ten 
and one-quarter, ten and one-half and eleven 
and one-half pounds to the dozen. If you can 
give me any data necessary for spring and 
summer it will be appreciated. — C. M., 
Michigan. (This customer started with four 
hundred pairs of our Extra Homers.) 



INCREASED FROM A DOZEN PAIRS TO 
250. I bought a dozen pairs of birds from 
you two years ago, and now have two hundred 
and fifty. Is that doing well; 1 Will you 
kindly inform me by return mail how you 
separate the pigeon dun? from the other 
matter it gets mixed with, and I will be greatly 
obliged. — F. M. F., Iowa. 

INSIDE TWO MONTHS HAS YOUNG 
BIRDS BEING RAISED IN A SEPARATE 

PEN. I bought a dozen pairs of Homers of 
you and received them March 1, two months 
ago. They have mated and produced quite a 
number of squabs. _ I have the squabs in a 
separate house, as I intend to raise them for a 
year or so until I increase my flock. I have 
been advised to pull out the tail feathers of the 
squabs when they are old enough to put into a 
house by themselves, as it would decrease the 
death rate among them, as all their vitality 
can go to the bird and not into the tail feath- 
ers. Is there anything in this advice? — J. W. 
W., Rhode Island. 

Answer: We believe it is best not to pull the 
tail feathers out of the young. We have never 
done it ourselves. Certainly the Creator does 
not pull out the tail feathers from these young 
birds when they are weaned. 

RECREATION FOR AN IOWA MINISTER. 

The twenty-six birds came in good shape, 
apparently no worse for the journey. Most 
of them are active. I am well pleased with 
the birds. We are making friends rapidly, 
some of them eating almost at once out of my 
hand. I wish them to do well, and as soon as 
I get accustomed to their ways it is my inten- 
tion to put in enough stock to make their care 
worth while. I wish to show my appreciation 
of the way in which the order was filled. — Rev. 
N. F. D., Iowa. 

IOWA LADY GREATLY PLEASED. I 

am greatly pleased with my flock and expect 
to send another order sometime later. — Miss 
A. A., Iowa. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS THE BEST 
IN COMPARISON WITH ALL OTHERS. I 

received the birds in good shape and the grain 
and gravel. The birds are doing well. I 
have got two sets of squabs and five more 
pairs on eggs. The reason I did not write you 
before is, I went around to different people 
that have had pigeons from other places and 
the same people have seen your stock; and 
they all say yours is the best. I shall give you 
more orders when my pocketbook will permit 
me. I think you do your best and I thank 
you again for the nice big birds you sent me.— 
J. H. H., Michigan. 

MADE THEMSELVES AT HOME IN KEN- 
TUCKY. I received from you in_ March two 
dozen birds. They have been laying for over 
a month and I have now (May) four pairs of 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

166 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



young birds. I am very much pleased with 
them and the way they have taken to their 
new conditions. — R. F. W., Kentucky. 

GOT A GOOD START. The birds are doing 
fine now. I have seven pairs young and two 
on eggs since March first. — L. C. M., New 
York. 

REMARKABLY WELL IN SHORT TIME. 

Several weeks ago I received one dozen of 
your Homer pigeons from you for which I paid 
$10. These are all mated up and doing fine, 
except two. Four of them are setting and 
another one will be setting in two or three 
days. I think this is doing remarkably well 
for the short time I have had them, as I did 
not expect them to lay until at least three 
weeks after they had been here. — B. W., 
North Carolina. 

SELLING SQUABS AS FAST AS THEY 
COME AND GETTING ORDERS FOR 
MORE— ANOTHER SMART WOMAN. Find 
enclosed post-office money order and send 
me eighteen pairs. The last lot I got were 
$15 for six pairs; also want two extra hens 
for two extra cocks which I have. I have 
been saving up some of my young during the 
fall and winter months and have two extra 
cocks. Am selling everything as fast as they 
come and even engaging ahead most of the 
time. The Country Club manager spoke to 
me a day or two ago to try and have squabs 
for their little dinner parties, which will begin 
to be popular about June, and as I have two 
standing orders at present for all I have to 
spare I must put in some more breeders. I 
have about sixty birds now. Of the six pairs 
ordered last fall, one hen died within a week- 
with diarrhoea. — Miss J. M., Illinois. 

BIRDS BREED SO FAST THAT HE 
HAS NO MORE ROOM FOR THEM. I have 
about seventy pigeons. They are six months 
to one year old. What can you allow me on 
them toward more breeders? These birds 
are all raised from stock I bought of you. 
The reason I want to exchange them is be- 
cause my house is too small for them and I 
have no more room. I am going to put up 
a large. building in the spring and then I can 
take care of more. I am satisfied there is 
money in the business if any one can get 
started right. — H. A. M., Massachusetts. 

A BRACE OF SQUABS BRED FROM 
PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS WEIGHED 
OVER TWO POUNDS. I weighed two 
squabs from your birds and they weighed 

Sst two pounds, two ounces. — J. A. O., New 
ampshire. 

BEST HOMERS IN HIS FLOCK— 
THEIR SQUABS BRING HIM THIRTY- 
FD7E CENTS APIECE FROM BOSTON 



HOTELS ALL THE YEAR ROUND. The 
birds I purchased from you are the cream of 
the flock. I have been selling the squabs 
at the Boston hotels for thirty-five cents 
apiece the year round, and Nathan Robbins, 
at the Quincy Market, was glad to take 
them at $3.50 per dozen. I have saved a 
few young birds, some of the very finest.— 
C. L. P., Massachusetts. 

KANSAS MARKET IS LOOKING UP. 

The birds arrived in good order and I am 
today well pleased with them. I think 
some of them have as fine plumage as I ever 
saw on a pigeon. There is a party here in 
town that has a flock but they are not first- 
class birds, yet he gets $2.50 per dozen for 
the squabs and could sell five times as many 
if he had them in Kansas City. We are 
favorably located here, sixty-five miles to 
Kansas City, forty miles to St. Jo., Missouri, 
and twenty-five miles to Topeka, and we 
ought to do well. If I pan get hold of a place 
just out of town I will increase my flock n ext 
spring or possibly this fall. — C. H. K., Kansas. 

RATS TROUBLED HIM. I have not 
bought a bird since you sent me one hundred 
pairs of Homers. At first they did not do 
much. The very hard winter we had and 
I being away in New York most of the winter, 
and the birds not having the proper care, of 
course they did not do much; but now they 
are raising "Cain," and they are chasing 
each other to the nests. I now have about 
two hundred young ones that escaped the 
rats, and two hundred and twenty-two eggs 
hatching. I am satisfied with them and they 
must have been strong and hardy birds to 
have lived. I have lost as many as one hun- 
dred birds by rats. I have tried everything, 
and am now laying cement floors on three 
barns, but guess I will have to build new 
buildings. I will mail you a photograph of 
the place in a week or so. I have not sold 
a bird as yet, but have had plenty of chances. 
— C. M. S., New York. 

ATTRACTED MANY ADMIRERS IN 
THIS EXPRESS OFFICE FN THE STATE 
OF WASHINGTON. In acknowledging re- 
ceipt of the six pairs Extra Homers I wish to 
thank you for the additional pair, and to 
say that they reached me in the pink of con- 
dition. My delivery man told me that many 
persons copied your address from the basket 
at the front of the express office, where they 
attracted considerable attention. The re- 
markably beautiful black bird I have named 
Black Champion and his consort Queen. 
She will hatch next week. At present I have 
five squabs, one egg falling to hatch. If 
beauty counts for anything, the birds are 
worth the price. — Mrs. P. M. V., State of 
Washington. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

167 



STORIES OF SUCCESS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 



MANUAL PRACTICAL AND BEST. Your 
Manual came to hand and can see that it is 
a book everybody should have who may be 
interested in pigeons. I have had birds for 
eight years and read all kinds of books. I 
think yours is the best which can be had. — 
H. E. E., Pennsylvania. 

HIGHLY SPOKEN OF IN VIRGINIA. 

Will you kindly send me your price list of 
books and circulars giving your prices, etc. 
Being very much interested in this industry 
and expecting soon to go into business, I 
wish to get your prices and information. I 
have heard your company spoken very highly 
of here in Virginia and wish to get acquainted 
with you. — J. W. K., Virginia. 

A GUARANTEE WHICH GUARANTEES. 

The two sick birds are improving and are 
almost as lively as the others. Your offer 
to make them good in case they did not get 
better shows that your guarantee means 
something. A good many persons have seen 
them and all agree that they are far ahead 
of the ordinary run of pigeons, and any one 
who understands anything at all about live- 
stock of any kind can see it at a glance. — ■ 
J. G., Pennsylvania. 

A CUSTOMER IN THE BERMUDA 
ISLANDS GETS HIS HOMERS IN GOOD 
ORDER. The pigeons arrived here all safe 
on Monday, December 5. One of them is a 
little dull, and we have separated it from the 
others and hope that it will get all right. — 
G. S., Bermuda Islands. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS HAVE 
THE CALL IN JERSEY CITY. Enclosed 
find remittance for which please send me six 
pairs Plymouth Rock Homers by Adams Ex- 
press. If these are satisfactory and as nice 
as some of your birds I have seen in Jersey 
City, I will want more shortly, as I have ac- 
commodations for about one hundred pairs. 
— F. E. F., New Jersey. 

BIRDS DID BETTER THAN HE FIG- 
URED WHEN HE STARTED. Can you 

favor me with the address of some squab 
buyer in the vicinity of Syracuse, New York? 
The birds I got of you a year ago are doing 
finely and surpassed my expectations. Am 
having to enlarge again. — W. L., New York. 

EXPRESS DELIVERY BEAT THE MALL. 

Pigeons came yesterday in fine condition. I 
am more pleased. Thank you for filling the 
order so promptly. The birds were here 
three hours before your letter telling me that 
you had shipped. — -C. M. G., New York. 



HER SECOND ORDER FROM FAR- 
OFF WASHINGTON. Find enclosed $68.17, 
for which please send me forty pairs Plymouth 
Rock Homers and supplies as specified. This 
is my second order. — Mrs. M. G., State of 
Washington. 

GOT A DOZEN, NOW HAS 200. Please 
send me the names and addresses of some of 
the firms in New Yprk City and other places 
which deal in squabs and pigeons. I have 
now about two hundred pigeons. I got a 
dozen pigeons from you to start with in June, 
1993. What is the price of squabs and old 
pigeons now? — J. G. G., Pennsylvania. 

SQUABS ARE A "TERRIBLE SIZE." 

My tiock is increasing rapidly and I must 
provide for them. I also inform you that 
my birds are doing finely and breeding 
steadily right along and are very healthy. 
Our squabs are of a terrible size. Any one 
would be astonished to see them at tour 
weeks old. — A. B. F New York. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMER USED AT 
THE CHRISTENING OF A FOUR-MASTED 
SCHOONER DOWN IN MAINE. I write to 
say that the Homer pigeon which you sent 
to Mr. E. R. Chapman a few days ago, was 
uesd at the christening of the new four- 
masted schooner " Augusta W. Snow " which 
was launched at the yard of Messrs. E. and 
I. K. Stetson this forenoon, and was released 
at 11.20 a.m.. today, and if she turns up at 
home I shall be very glad if you will inform 
me of the time, etc. The following inscrip- 
tion was attached to her leg, written in in- 
delible ink on a piece of linen — " Bangor, 
Maine, Christening Pigeon from launching 
of Schooner Augusta W. Snow, May 6, 1905." 
— W. B. S., Maine. 

WELL SATISFIED AFTER A YEAR OF 

BREEDING. It is one year ago last Decem- 
ber that I received thirty-six pairs of your 
pigeons. I am well satisfied with the results. 
They have demonstrated without doubt they 
are breeders all right. I have sold a few 
dozen squabs, eaten a couple of dozen and in- 
creased our flock by many dozens. I have 
as fine lot of pigeons as one would wish and 
they are producing squabs right along. The 
pigeons I raised last year are producing birds 
and are an unusually fine lot of pigeons. — 
H. P., New York. 

A GOOD START IN THE FIRST SIX 
MONTHS. The pigeons I bought of you in 
July have done finely. I think I got seven 
pairs and now (February) I have close to 
twenty-five pairs and the young ones have 
begun to lay now. I see that they will mul- 
tiply very fast. — T. E. G., Alabama. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

168 



APPENDIX C 

{Copyright, 1906, by Elmer C. Rice) 

In 1907, we expect our trade to be even greater. In 1906, we sold more 
birds ai?d supplies than in any previous year. That our trade is larger than 
that of all others combined is not an idle boast, but is very much of a fact, due 
to this, namely, that we sell Homers which are larger, more prolific, and which 
breed larger squabs, than any others. This supremacy we intend to maintain. 

We offer additional proof in the following pages. For every letter which 
we print here, we have a dozen just as good, or better. The following letters, 
only a part of many received in nine months of 1906, are not from customers 
merely pleased by the fine appearance of the birds on arrival, but are accounts 
of breeding which has won success. 

There are some very strong letters here. All are worth reading for the 
practical information and news they give of the squab industry up to date. 
We do not print the names and addresses of these customers. Many are 
regular buyers of our birds. We guarantee the genuineness of the letters, 
and will prove it in any way desired. The originals are at our Boston office 
and may be seen there. 

We ask your trade for 1907 by deserving it. If anybody tries to make a 
sale to you by " running down " competitors, insist that he or them demon- 
strate the worth of claims by furnishing proof in volume and character, con- 
cerning birds, matings and management, equal to the letters we print here 
and in our other publications. 



OUR LARGEST 1906 ORDER. In looking birds had a long trip to reach him. We 

back over our year of business, 1906, we recall expect to sell him more yet, judging from his 

first an order from a customer whom we last letter. We will be pleased to show the 

started in 1905, with 120 pairs Extra, for correspondence at our Boston office. The 

which he paid $300. We sent him 125 pairs, point we wish to make is, that we are the only 

five pairs free. A year later we received the firm anywhere actually filling orders this 

following telegram from him: size, or able to fill them, and that we earned 

" Wire bottom prices for one thousand pairs the confidence of this customer by giving him 

Extra, including two thousand nappies and his first lot of birds so good that he kept on 

date you ship." trading with us. More 1906 experiences 

We quoted him our regular price for Extras, follow, 
the same to all, namelv $1.70 per nair in large 

lots of 300 pairs and over. Our customer was STARTED WITH SIX PAIRS EXTRA AND 

a man of few words and knew what he IN TWO YEARS RAISED SIX HUNDRED 

wanted. Three days after sending us the AND THIRTY-SIX SQUABS. Nearly two 

above telegram he sent us the following years ago (in October. 1904), I purchased of 

letter: " Enclosed find draft for $2111.25 as your firm six pairs of your best Extra Homer 

payment in full for 1150 pairs Extra and pigeons, from which I have been breeding 

supplies. I trust jou will exert every care in since, and it may be of interest to you to have 

interest of shipment. You will please hold some particulars as to results I should pre- 

the birds until May 10, as it will crowd me to mise by saving that I was, at the time a nov- 

get my quarters ready before that time." ice pure and simple — as a matter of fact a 

We shipped 1200 pairs, giving the customer lawyer by profession — and knew absolutely 

50 pairs free. He lives in the West and the nothing of the care or culture of pigeons, 

169 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906 



However, study of your squab book, close and 
constant observation of the birds, their habits, 
etc., with the resultant experience, enable me 
to get along pretty well. _ _ 

My pigeon house was not originally in- 
tended or constructed for that particular pur- 
pose, but had, hitherto, been used for a hen 
house. It is about 40 feet by 12 feet, with 
five windows. Along the whole of the west 
front and extending across the south end I 
built a fly 10 feet wide, 12 feet high and aboub 
70 feet long. My flock has hatched, up to th3 
time of writing this, six hundred and thirty - 
six squabs (636), without those consumed at 
my own table, but I contemplate marketing 
the squabs this fall as the overcrowding stage 
is rapidly approaching. 

If you can find time I shall be glad to hear 
whether or no, in your expert opinion and in 
the above circumstances, you think that I 
have been fairly successful. Although I feel 
reasonably satisfied with my progress, were I 
to start again, ab initio, I think that I should 
do so with a complete flock of fully matured 
birds rather than waste the time consumed 
raising stock, by breeding, to a business 
basis. Wishing you continued success. — W. 
C, Massachusetts. 

DOING GREAT WORK. The Homers 
which you sold me two years ago are doing 
great work. I am perfectly satisfied with 
them. — F. S., New York. 

TOOK FRIEND'S ADVICE. Enclosed find 
an order for birds and supplies with remit- 
tance. A friend here was much pleased with 
our birds from your lofts arid decided to go 
into the business. We prevailed on him to 
order from you because we felt your birds were 
the best. He could have bought here in 
Illinois at a much cheaper rate but he took 
our advice. So we trust you will do well by 
him and trust you will send us another order 
blank like the one enclosed. — Mrs. K., Illinois. 

MULTIPLIED SLX-FOLD. About two 
years ago next June, I bought of you 60 pairs 
of your Extra selected Homers and they were 
a very fine lot of birds, and I have raised a 
very fine lot of birds from them. I have about 
400 birds now, and they are straight bai 
wing and mottle T/ith che exception of about 
eight chocolate. — A. C ., New Jersey. 

GETTING THREE DOLLARS A DOZEN. 

Please send me your new literature on squabs. 
I bought 18 pairs of you in 1903 and now have 
a flock of 190 birds and am getting $3.00 for 
my squabs in St. Louis. If any one in this 
section writes to you for squabs you may refer 
them to me. — F. L., Missouri. 



NEIGHBOR PLEASED. Your favor of the 
21st to hand, also price list of SI. 70 for Extra 
Homers in 300-pair lots. Mr. J . A. Westen- 
dorf, of this city, purchased of you on a trial 
order five pairs of Extra. Why cannot ycu 
make me the $1.70 rate for 50, 100 or 200-pair 
lots? In going over my buildings I find that 
I cannot accommodate 300 pairs so would not 
like to order that number for fear of being too 
crowded. 

Mr. Westendorf is pleased with his birds 
and if the birds you should send would be the 
equal of those I would be more than satisfied. 
— A. S., Missouri. 

ENTIRELY SATISFACTORY. Please send 
me the feeding slip that you have published 
as your daily feeding ration. The birds we 
got from you are entirely satisfactory. — J. D., 
Pennsylvania. 

RECOMMENDED BY ANOTHER. Will 
you kindly let me know how I can expect to 
receive birds ordered from you to be sent to 
the above address? I have been recom- 
mended to try your birds by Mr. R. Warner, 
of 9 DuBois Avenue, and if you can guarantee 
safe shipment I will place an order with you 
as soon as I hear to this effect. And if they 
are as you represent them, I shall be a regular 
customer of yours. If you will give me the 
desired information, you will greatly oblige. — 
G. S., New York. 

THIS SHOWS WHAT A CUSTOMER DID 
WITH TWELVE PAIRS OF OUR BIRDS. 

My Extra Plymouth Rock Homers have done 
finely. I sent to Boston $30 for 12 pairs. 
The birds arrived before I expected them and 
they all looked fine. I got my first egg March 
21, 1905. I raised all of my young to increase 
the flock for one year and found at the end of 
the year that I had 271 young birds, all seam- 
less banded, and as fine a lot as I ever have 
seen. This year I am selling squabs and 
mated pairs, raising my best young, and have 
already sold squabs and mated pairs which 
have to date netted me $60. I have sold my 
squabs for $3 a dozen, and mated pairs for 
$2.50 a pair. 

I now (September 10, 1906), have 400 birds 
that I have raised. A good lot of them are 
worthy to be put in the show pen, and if they 
were they would be among the winners. 

When I went into the pigeon business I 
bought what I thought was the best stock to 
be obtained, namely, Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers, and my flock shows that I did not go 
wrong, for every one that has seen my birds 
pronounces them the best lot they have ever 
seen together. 

■ My birds now are in the midst of moult, 
but most of them are breeding right along. 



These are strong letters. Read them over. You want some assurance, when you buy 
pigeons, that you will be treated right, as these customers were. 

170 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 190&. 



I now have 95 mated pairs at work and as soon 
as the moult is over I snail begin mating again. 
By November 1 expect to have 50 pairs more 
mated and at work. 

I feed tne best of grain, using cracked corn, 
ka.hr corn, red wheat, buckwheat, a little 
he:np, and during tne moult sunflower in the 
head, letting the birds pick cff the seed as they 
like. 

I use the self feeder Mr. Rice describes in his 
Manual and I find with it the feed is always 
clean. I never feed on floor. I use automatic 
water fountains and scald them out every two 
or three days. I give the birds a good clean 
bath every day. 

I have trays to feed any dainty which I 
have, removing trays when seeds are eaten. 

One thing that is essential with pigeons is 
cleanliness. I clean loft every Saturday, 
cleaning out nests that have young, putting 
in new straw, and spraying over lofts with 
iiquid disinfectant. 

I have followed the instructions of Mr. 
Rice's Manual and found it to be good solid 
advice. 

In the past 18 months I have been in a good 
many pigeon lofts and have seen exhibits at 
New York State Fair and Rochester, N. Y., 
Pigeon Shows, and never have seen any better 
birds thai I have raised from the Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers. 

I am perfectly satisfied with what my birds 
have done and when I buy more they will 
surely be Extra Plymouth Rocks. 

The feed bill will not exceed eighty-five 
cents a year per breeding pair. I use tobacco 
stems for nesting material and like them. 
I shall always try and speak a good word for 
the Plymouth Rock Squab Company, for I 
have found them always ready to assist at any 
time.— W. R. R., New York. 

THEY HAVE NOT LOST A BIRD. I wrote 
to you some time ago in regard to the squabs 
we got from you in _ the month of May, or 
rather pigeons, 50 pairs, and have yet to lose 
our first bird, which not only speaks well for 
your birds but it looks as if we are giving them 
the right attention. 

There is one thing we wrote to you about, 
those not working — but they are doing fine 
and, counting your birds, we have 100 pairs, 
besides we have sold some which were 
greatly admired. 

The hotel we take them to in Washington 
gives seventy-five cents a pair all the year 
round dressed, the commission merchants 
never higher than 60 cents a pair. — M. B., 
Maryland. 

MANUAL INDISPENSABLE TO SUCCESS. 

In regard to the National Squab Book which 
you publish, would ask if you ever revise it. 



The one I purchased of you in May 1904, is 
all rig.it and I could never have raised the 
number and quality of squabs I do witnout its 
guidance. Of course you are learning new 
points about your business and if you have a 
later edition than mine please let me know. 

The Homers have started in on their annual 
spring campaign and from all appearances 
they are going to outdo their former produc- 
tions. With best wishes for your continued 
success. — A. T., Ohio. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO HIM BY 
OTHER CUSTOMERS. Some time ago I 
wrote your company for their free book on 
squab raising. Later I sent for your National 
Standard Squab Book. I have read each one 
from start to finish and am well pleased with 
them. I have made up my mind to give the 
squab_ business a trial as I am quite sure that 
there is money in it, if properly conducted. 

I realize that to make a success of any 
business one must thoroughly understand it. 
As I have had no experience in this line 1 wish 
to start in with a small number and increase 
them as I grow to understand the business. 

My plan is to buy 12 pairs of the very best 
breeders that I can obtain and keep only the 
best of their increase for breeders till I get my 
flock to the desired size. Now, from reading 
your books and having you highly recom- 
mended to me by other parties, I have m ade up 
my mind that you can give me what I want in 
this line. — H. B., Illinois. 

FROM FOUR PAIRS TO THIRTY PAIRS 
IN NINE MONTHS. Nine months ago I 
bought of you four pairs of Extra Homers. 
I had to move them twice to make room. I 
have now 60 first-class Homers. I have had 
several chances to sell some of the squabs 
but I think too much of them. By studying 
your manual carefully I have not lost a bird. 
From a friend of your Homers. — W. M., New 
York. 

NO DISEASE. You no doubt have my 
name on your books as a purchaser of 10 pairs 
Extra, which I purchased of you last winter. 
I am still enthusiastic over the industry. I 
have all the original 11 pairs you sent me and 
33 young, all the offspring of your birds, 55 
birds in all. They are every one in finest 
condition, disease has never touched my flock. 
— J. P., Virginia. 

FIVE MONTHS IN CALIFORNIA. When 
I received those birds from you in March I 
turned them into a pen and have been so taken 
up with other work that they have been left 
to themselves until now. At present I am 
taking all the working birds out and banding, 
and when they have young squabs I have 



Beware of anybody who tries to make a sale to you by running down the Plymouth Rock 
Squab Co. Insist that he show you letters like these in proof of his claims. 

171 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED B"i 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906 



moved them also, putting them in a corres- 
ponding section in the other pen, the arrange- 
ment of the pens being the same. I find that 
the old birds find their young and go right on 
keeping house just the same as before they 
were moved. At present I have 100 young 
birds, the oldest being less than five months 
and already at work. The squabs are fully 
developed and out of the nest at three weeks. 
I expect to have about 80 or 90 pair of birds 
at work about the first of November. Then 
I shall begin to ship. — E. R. C, California. 

GETTING ALONG IN VIRGINIA. Please 

ship by freight to us six drinking fountains 
and six bath pans. We got some birds of you 
last year. They have done very well. 
Thank you for the advice — P. N., Virginia. 

GENEROUS TREATMENT OF CUSTOM- 
ERS. Your letter of May 21 was most satis- 
factory and certainly very generous. I hope I 
made it very plain to you that you were not at 
all to blame for the loss of one of my pigeons. 
Your offer to replace it free of charge was 
quite in keeping with my impression as to 
your very generous treatment of your cus- 
tomers. I have at last found that the lost 
pigeon was a female and if you think a white 
pigeon would be well received by my colony 
of three checkered, I would like to have a 
white female Extra Homer pigeon. My 
pigeons are in fine order and doing well. — 
Mrs. H. C, Georgia. 

LOST ONLY ONE SQUAB IN FIVE 
MONTHS. Five months since, come the 12th, 
I received of you, by express, 13 pairs of your 
Plymouth Rock Homers. Up to date I have 
lost but one squab (and I think he was killed 
by a dislocation of the neck), possibly 10 eggs, 
several by frost. I have 54 squabs, most of 
them able to take care of themselves, and 
seven pairs of eggs. Three pairs of young 
ones have hatched and begun to build their 
nests. Now I wish to ask you if you think 
they are doing well. I do, and I am proud of 
my intelligent birds. I am now preparing 
to remove all young ones from the pen except 
those that, are mated and then as fast as the 
others mate, to do as you say, put them into 
the breeding pen. I shall also _ build on 
another unit to my breeding pen in a short 
time, as I figure on 110 birds in my present 
house. 

I wish I was financially able to put in a good 
plant as these birds have demonstrated their 
fecundity. I notice you say that there is 
little liability of nest-makers mating. * have 
not discovered any with the few I have. _ I 
have just gone through the nest boxes with 
whitewash containing a good per cent of 



carbolic acid and vitriol solution. I clean 
out houses often and so far have not had a 
sick bird. Occasionally I put ginger in the 
drinking fount and I firmly believe it is by 
following your plain and definite instruction 
that they keep as well. 

I hope I am not trespassing on your valu- 
able time but cannot resist telling you how I 
am getting on with your stock. — W. G. P.. 
Wisconsin. 

CONVINCED AFTER TRIAL. I have de- 
layed in writing you as I wanted to see how 
the birds were going to turn out. Can say 
now, I am more than pleased with the birds. 
I have now 18 squabs and five pairs of eggs. 
Three squabs died and six eggs went to waste. 
That is all over with now. Don't expect that 
to happen again. As far as I can see squab 
raising looks to be very simple and profitable. 
I have a nice clean house and running water 
so the time spent is nothing. Enclosed you 
will find my check fcr 12 pair Extra more. — 
J. S., Washington. 

GETTING FOUR DOLLARS A DOZEN 

FOR SQUABS. Please send me as speedily 
as possible 25 pairs of Extra Blue Homer 
Pigeons. I have now about 125 pairs of birds 
bred from the original 20 pairs I bought from 
you about 18 months ago and am selling 
squabs at $4.00 a dozen. I am building a 
coop 48 feet by 14 feet which will accom- 
modate about 600 birds and if successful will 
enlarge my plant shortly. 

Will you kindly supply me with the name 
of the large Commission house in New York 
mentioned m your circular? The original 
birds were bought from you in November 
1904 and shipped to my partner in the busi- 
ness. — H. B., New Jersey. 

QUICK TIME. I have read a large num- 
ber of your testimonials, none like this how- 
ever. Now I will make an affidavit that I 
received the 38 pairs Saturday morning, put 
them in the pen by ten a.m. I gave them a 
few tobacco stems from a crock on the_ floor 
in the corner. At five p.m. a hen laid an 
egg. She laid her second egg to-day, Monday, 
and is now setting. Can any of your cus- 
tomers beat this? — S. H., Illinois. 

THINKS WE ARE TRUE BLUE. I am 

giving my pigeons occasionally lettuce or 
some raw cabbage, which they most heartily 
enjoy. Is this conduct prudent? The last 
batch of birds you sent me "Extra selected" 
were magnificent. You people (The Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Company) seem to be 
"true blue." I like to deal with your kind; 
don't find them all the time. Please answer 



Is there anybody in your town who has failed at squab raising? Some play at pigeons 
as they would with a new toy, then they give them up. If they bought of us, the trouble is 
with them and not with the pigeons. 

172 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



the above and return to me. Yours well 
satisfied with your treatment. — O. J., Illinois. 

SUCCESS IN TEXAS. In October 1905 
I purchased from you 25 pairs of birds and 
since that time I have had fair success in 
raising squabs. I have about 175 young 
birds on hand at present. They are all 
strong and healthy, having had the best_ of 
care, and a great many of them are mating 
now. — W. B., Texas. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LETTER. I 

received the birds all O.K. The last ones 
were every one all right, as were the first. 
A thousand thanks for your land, courteous, 
and prompt treatment in all our business 
dealings and you will be sure to hear from us 
again. If our letter will help you any, you 
are perfectly welcome to use it. Thank you 
again. — J. C. H., Michigan. 

SELLING MANURE. Some time ago I 
bought 24 pairs Homer Pigeons from you. 
I have had fairly good luck with them, having 
increased my flock to about 200 pairs. I 
want to write you in regard the manure. 
You state in your National Standard Squab 
Book, that the Leather Trust used it for 
tanning purposes. Now I have considerable 
on hand and I wrote them. They said in 
reply, that they did not use it at all, which 
was a surprise to me as I have been careful 
in saving it. — W. H. H., Pennsylvania. 

Answer. The trust does use pigeon manure 
or did, the last we knew. We shipped to one 
of the Lowell plants of the American Hide 
and Leather Co. for three years. Perhaps 
your letter was directed to oneof the plants 
of the trust which does not use pigeon manure. 
We have printed so long the fact that pigeon 
manure is salable to tanneries of the trust 
that the New York office of the trust has been 
bombarded with pigeon manure letters for 
the last five years to such an extent that they 
are sick of the topic there and give _ an in- 
quirer poor satisfaction. For some time we 
have been selling our pigeon manure to 
leather men whose factories are within ten 
miles of our Melrose plant. Their teams call 
for it and take it away with very little trouble 
to us. We get sixty cents a bushel for it, 
same as usual. If any customer of ours 
wishes to ship manure to New Jersey or New 
York, we will help him to find a buyer there, 
as we have letters from tanneries in both 
States on file asking us to sell them "pigeon 
pure." 

HIS FLOCK GROWING. About a year 
ago I bought some birds from you, some 
$2.00 per pair and some $2.50. My flock is 



growing and seems to be getting along pretty 
good, having now 180 birds — will soon have 
200 birds. I thought I would try and sell 
some now. They are all good birds. I want 
to try and sell what I raise now and if possible 
make a business of the squabs if there is 
enough in it to warrant putting up more 
buildings and getting more stock. 

It costs me about $1.90 per week for feed 
for this amount. Am I feeding enough? — 
M. N., Massachusetts. 

BUILT NEW HOUSE. I have built a 
new house for my pigeons. Have increased 
my flock from the original six pairs to 50, 
besides Selling 30 pairs of squabs. Cotild I 
have done any better than that? 

Have been having some trouble by a few 
going light and have followed your advice 
and think have got the better of the difficulty. 
I lay the trouble to the poor quality of wheat 
they have been furnishing me. It seems to 
be all shrunk up and they don't eat half of it. 
— A. D. V., Pennsylvania. 

Answer. More pigeon troubles are caused 
by wheat, or too much of it, than almost any- 
thing else. Squabs which are thin and dark 
are caused by too much wheat in the ration. 
Pigeons fed on too much wheat get thin, with 
sharp breastbones, and will not lay as they 
ought to. A good ration of Canada peas and 
hempseed is necessary to bring eggs and keep 
the_ flock in condition. A pigeon will not 
thrive if not kept in condition by nourishing 
food. The results of too much wheat are 
loose droppings, stupid and non-productive 
birds. Pigeons should be active and eager. 

IN FINE CONDITION. My birds I bought 
a little over a year ago (12 pairs) are still 
doing fine; have sold several small lots of 
squabs. I have been following your manual's 
instructions as close as possible. I have about 
sixty pairs. They are in fine condition and 
have lots of eggs and youngsters. — C. W. H., 
North Carolina. 

SQUABS WEIGHING NEARLY A POUND 
APIECE WHEN ONLY THREE WEEKS 

OLD. Please send me your price list on birds 
and supplies as I intend to get about ten 
more pairs of Extra Homers and want to get 
them of you. The birds I have now, which 
I got from you, are doing fine and I have 
doubled my flock. I could sell all the squabs 
I have but want them for breeders. 

Would you kindly advise me if oats are 
good for breeding pigeons if fed moderately. 
Also do you think it wise to sell my squabs 
when they are from two and one half to three 
weeks old, as some of them will weigh about 
fourteen ounces at that age. — A. P., Ohio. 



Look up the standing and character of the concern with which you contemplate dealing. 
Your bank will find out the facts for you. Avoid advertisers whom you find out by investiga- 
tion are worthless. Have their ratings looked up for you. 



173 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



Answer. Pigeons do not care much for 
oats. Pigeons in the street eat them, as they 
eat peanuts or bread. Of course if you have 
oats handy and cheap, you can feed some, 
but pigeons will eat almost every other grain 
in preference. When squabs weigh 14 ounces 
they can be killed, no matter what their age. 

MOVE THEM AS YOU PROPOSE. I have 
pigeon breeders in unit numbers one and 
three. Squabs in unit number two, from 
one to three months old. I wish to put num- 
ber three with number one. Number three 
is breeding right along. Will it hurt to move 
nest, pigeons and squabs out of number three 
into unit number one? Will it damage eggs 
and squabs to do so? If rDt I can move 
them through unit number two, as I can let 
number two in flying pen while I am moving 
number three. 

I shall want more pigeons by fall. I got 
13 pairs from you last year, and I have 100 
f—irs in all now, so you see I have done well 
wUh them. I wish you would answer as soon 
ai> possible as I do not wish to molest them 
before I hear from you. — J. P. M., Michigan. 

Answer. Move them as you propose, 
putting the nests in the same relative posi- 
tions in the new nest-boxes. You will lose 
few, if any. 

INCREASED STOCK. In May, 1903, you 
sent C. I. Bruce forty (40) pairs of your 
pigeons at $2.50 a pair, and in 1904, twelve 
(12) females. We have sold and increased 
stock since then by breeding, until, at present, 
we have about three hundred (300) birds. — 
Miss H. J., Connecticut. 

BEST HOMERS HE EVER SAW. You 

favor of the 12th June, answering my inquir ' 
of the 9th June, was duly received. Thank 
for the information. I had fully intended to 
visit your plant, but, just as I am ready to 
start, my wife, who was to accompany me on 
a two weeks visit tc the New England coast 
is taken sick. I have seen the birds which 
you sent to my neighbor, Mr. P. C. Evans, 
and they appear to be all you claim for them, 
tie best specimens of Homers I have yet had 
the pleasure of seeing. 

If you can let me have a small lot of one- 
half dozen pairs, at same price as paid by Mr. 
Evans, you may enter my order for same, 
with dozen bowls, for early delivery. — G. W. 
G., Pennsylvania. 

FLOCK WENT TO WORK QUICKLY. 

Out of the seven pairs of Extra Homers you 
Shipped me June 2, 1906, I have already 
(August 10) got twelve squabs. I am very 
much pleased over having such good success 



but I have no way of marking them. You 
will please send me an outfit for marking 
them by mail. Send about what yo i think 
a beginner ought to have. As the business 
grows, will send you a larger order. — L. L., 
Nebraska. 

A WOMAN'S WORK. I have 90 pigeons 
on hand, bred from the 26 my husband bought 
of you a year ago last April. — Mrs. H. C, 
Illinois. 

STRICTLY ALL RIGHT. A friend of mine 
of this city recommended you to me as being 
strictly all right. I will thank you to send 
me your literature explaining the cost of 
starting a squab farm of about 250 pairs, 
raising and marketing same, as I contemplate 
going in that business. Thank you in ad- 
vance for any information that you may give 
me. — W. M. A., Alabama. 

RESULTS TELL THE STORY. As all of 

my birds secured from you in May this year 
have their second pairs of young ones and I 
think will continue to multiply as fast, will 
you kindly forward me a list of commission 
men as stated in your letter of recent date. 
Am perfectly satisfied with the results ob- 
tained from your birds. If you have any 
inquiries for birds in this locality I will be glad 
to attend to them for you. — J. L. T., Indiana. 

SIZE OF SQUABS A REVELATION. We 

are pleased to advise you that we ate our first 
squab from the lot of birds you shipped in 
May last Sunday and wish to state that the 
size of these squabs is a revelation to us, being 
almost twice as large as any we have ever been 
able to secure. 

The enclosed list will give you an idea as to 
their productiveness. I also would like to 
have you answer the questions contained 
therein. — H. B. R. Illinois. 

OUR BIRDS BETTER THAN WE CLAIM. 

My birds reached me in good order and was 
glad to see them when I got home from work 
safe and sound. I think the American 
Express Co. is about the best there is. Every- 
body that sees your birds say they are the finest 
they ever saw. I think when anybody is look- 
ing for good birds they don't need to look any 
further than your place and I know they will 
go ahead of any birds in this town for looks 
and flying. I think we will stay here till we 
get a good floik of birds then we will move 
outside of town. The next time I send for 
birds I will try and send you a bigger order. 

Your birds are better than you claim for 
them. Some of them have eggs before their 
young ones are two weeks old. They get so 



We were the first Our birds and methods revolutionized the squab industry and are 
widely imitated. But imitators who copy or find fault with our printed matter cannot give 
you our birds. We have no agents. 

174 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1^> 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED EX 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



big they just about can't sit in the nest. I 
think if you would put an advertisement in 
some of the evening papers you would get 
some more trade. I am advertising your 
birds to everybody I know. — J. S., Wisconsin. 

COMPLIMENTED BY AN EXPERIENCED 
JUDGE. One of my hens made her nest and 
I thought she was ready to lay but she sat all 
one day and part of the next and did not, but 
had her mouth open panting and seemed very 
sick. I telephoned to Mr. M. to come and tell 
me what to do. When he came he held her 
in warm water for 15 minutes and then fast- 
ened her in her nest. In ten minutes she laid 
her egg and got all right. 

Mr. M. holds the world's record for three 
hundred miles and has some of the most val- 
uable birds in Chicago, and he said my birds 
were very fine, in fact he said he could have 
hardly told them from his own, they resembled 
them so much. 

When so good a judge will compliment 
them so highly I feel very proud of them. — 
A. B., Illinois. 

SQUABS WEIGHING ONE POUND AT 
TWO WEEKS. I thought you might like to 
hear from the birds you sent us a year ago. 
They have been working overtime since. We 
have 54 birds now with several nesting. Every 
one is a solid color the same as the old ones. 

The squabs we have weighed have averaged 
a pound at three weeks old. One weighed a 
pound at two weeks. 

There is a party here getting birds of all 
kinds and colors and claims they are better 
than what we got for Extras on account of the 
bands. — J. W., South Dakota. 

Answer. It is quite common for parties 
selling poor Homers to put bands on their legs, 
some of them quite ornamental, in an endeav- 
or to enhance their value, same as putting 
a gaudy label on cheap goods. It is the pig- 
eons that count, not the bands. Bands are 
useful to number the birds, that is all. 

NO. 1 PLYMOUTH ROCKS ARE GOOD 
HOMERS. It will probably be fall before I 
get my house built and give you an order for 
more birds. If money is not too scarce the 
order will be for your best birds, for the No. 
1 Plymouth Rocks are doing even better than 
che Manual claims them to. Your Extra 
birds must be wonderful. — W. H. W., Massa- 
chusetts. 

WE " SHOW THEM " OUT IN MISSOURI. 

I received the grits and oyster shell all O. K. 
My birds jump on to *■ -ie grits and hemp seed 
in a hurry. They ar« doing well. I will have 
about sixty squabs this month and quite a 



number mating this week. I had an order 
for 100 squabs this morning. It made me 
sick to think I could not fill it, but my time 
came after a while. I will build another house 
soon and I want 100 more of your birds. Mr. 
Hall's birds look well. They came through 
nice. He is well pleased and I think he will 
order more. There are two more people talk- 
ing of going into the squab business. I will 
try to get an order for you. — J. W. H., Mis- 
souri. 

HAS NEVER SOLD ANY SQUABS LESS 
THAN NINE POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. 

About three years ago I purchased of you six 
pair of Homer pigeons for which I paid $2.50 
per pair. My flock are all from the stock I 
bought of you and I have some nice birds. I 
have never sold any squabs under nine pounds 
to the dozen at four weeks old. I never sell 
my birds after they have left the nest for 
squabs. Will you send me your price list for 
grains, that is, Kaffir corn and red wheat. 
I would like the address of Boston dealers. — ■ 
C. E. W., Rhode Island. 

LETTING BIRDS FLY. I would like to 
have your opinion and advice on a matter that 
is very important to me. I have a beautiful 
start with your birds, have followed your book 
exactly and the result has been very gratifying. 
Now what I want to do is to buy about three 
hundred more old birds from you and pen 
them. Will the young birds be as prolific, 
mate and hatch as well if properly fed, watered 
etc., exactly as my pens are, if I allow them to 
run loose on my farm ? There is no danger of 
them being shot and I would much prefer 
allowing them the run of the farm. I have 
the buildings that I could convert into com- 
fortable houses at once, and I will appreciate 
your thoughtful opinion and advice in the 
matter for I know you are headquarters. — • 
T. W., Tennessee. 

Answer. Birds which you raise you can 
let fly because they know no home but yours, 
but Homers which you buy you cannot let fly 
safely because they know another home (their 
old home) and their instinct and desire to go 
home may lead them to leave you. 

NEW JERSEY NEIGHBORS ALL AGREED. 

The six pairs of birds received from you the 
first day of May are still doing fine (July). 
One pair has her third pair of young at this 
writing — less than three months. The rest 
will hatch this week. Mr. Tevis (the neighbor 
I spoke to you about in a former letter) came 
over after me to see the birds that he had 
just received from you. They are fine birds 
and he is very much pleased with them and 
sorry that he did not take my advice and send 



The squab industry is growing every year. More squabs were bred in 1906 than ever 
before. Prices were better and they are going to be as good or better in 1907. The habit of 
squab eating is growing in every section. 



176 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



to you in the first place, but he bought about 
60 pairs from a New Jersey dealer. He 
showed him a letter that was supposed to have 
come from a man that bought birds of you, 
saying that he didn't want any more of them. 
But now he sees the difference when he has 
them side by side. Mr. Webster, my next 
door neighbor, is so well pleased with the 
way mine are doing that he is going to send 
for a few pairs this fall. I would if I could, 
and had the room. 

I. now have 16 pairs of the Plymouth Rock 
birds. My pen is open to any one that wants 
to see the birds before they send to you for 
breeders. I thank you for the fine birds you 
sent to Mr. Tevis. It shows that I didn't 
exaggerate your ability, to send six pairs or 
100 pairs of fine birds. — D. C. T., New Jersey. 

FINEST FLOCK HE HAD EVER SEEN. 
A year ago to-day we received eighteen pairs 
of your Homers. Our flock now numbers 
nearly 100 pairs and all are doing fine. We 
have sold a few pairs at $1.25 per pair, and 
have had any amount of inquiries after squabs. 
We have had a number of fanciers up to look 
at the flock, and all seem to think they are 
an exceptionally fine lot of birds. One 
gentleman who keeps an excellent lot of 
imported birds said they were the finest flock 
he had ever seen, which speaks well for your 
birds. — B. B., Michigan. 

BEST BIRDS IN HIS CITY. Find en- 
closed $16.34 for which to send me a dozen 
of your Homers, a dozen of nest bowls, and 
two feet of aluminum tubing. Would have 
liked to send an order sooner but had no 
place to keep them. My birds are doing 
fine. We have moved into a larger place 
where I can let my birds out in a wire cage. 
Your birds are the best I ever saw and the 
only ones I ever intend to keep. I have sold 
off all my young stock so I have more room 
for the others. — J. B. T., Wisconsin. 

SPLENDID WORK WITH SPLENDID 
BIRDS. I wish to advise you now (August, 
1906) of the splendid luck I have had with 
the six pairs of birds purchased from you last 
May and which were received at my home 
on May 17. 

These birds, within a week after arrival, 
commenced to construct their nests and ; out 
of the six pairs, five began hatching within 
two weeks and every egg produced a squab. 
Two squabs weighed at the age of four weeks 
and two days, 16 ounces, after plucking, and 
the remainder weighed from eight to 12 



ounces. The two squabs, weighing 16 ounces, 
were the largest I ever saw and I thought you 
would be interested in knowing the weights. 

On account of not having room for any 
more birds, I am killing the squabs as they 
mature but would have liked to have mated 
the two large squabs, as I believe that their 
offspring would have averaged 16 ounces 
each. — S. P. N., New Jersey. 

DOUBLED IN THREE MONTHS. En- 
closed find money order for $1.70 for which 
please send leg band outfit. The birds I 
bought of you in April are doing fine. _ They 
have doubled themselves. — W. A., Missouri. 

DOING WELL IN CANADA. Saw your 
advertisement in R. P. Journal, "Squab book 
free." Anything new in it? I have your 
book of 1904 with two dozen your Homers. 
They are doing fine. What would you sell 
me one dozen more? — P. I. B., Quebec. 

ORDERS FOR A FRIEND. I enclose you 
herewith a check for $30. Please ship to 
enclosed address 12 pairs of your Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers. Be sure to send 
him some nice ones. 

Those we bought of you some time back 
are doing nicely and if these show up as well 
I think that I will be able to send you some 
more orders soon. — S. W. T., Georgia. 

HAS DEALT WITH THE FAKIRS. The 

pigeons that you shipped to us have arrived 
in fine condition and the best of health. We 
are shipping back to you, via American 
Express the wicker basket in which you sent 
our pigeons. Also our many thanks for the 
trouble you took in selecting the different 
colored pairs. 

I wish to say that the pigeons are beauti- 
fully mated, because one pair have started 
in business already, the hen having laid two 
eggs, and all the others have showed promis- 
ing signs of mating. 

After having dealt with poultry fakirs and 
receiving their treatment, I fully appreciate 
your kind treatment which is so unlike that 
of these fakirs, but your endeavors are not in 
vain, as I soon expect to order some more 
pairs. Your treatment has encouraged me. 
I have provided an excellent house and pen 
for them. Thank you for your interest shown 
in this matter. — L. J. H., Illinois. 

IN THE BLUE GRASS STATE. Could 
you kindly tell me where I could get some 
white Homers ? The Plymouth Rock Homers 



New laws passed a year ago by the legislatures of Massachusetts and New York forbid the 
sale of quail except in the months of November and December. The penalty is a heavy fine 
for every quail found in the hands of any marketman or restaurant keeper. Quail are no 
longer found on bills of fare in these two states except around Thanksgiving and Christmas. 
Sauabs are on the bills of fare all the year everywhere. Other states, it is said by sportsmen, 
will follow Massachusetts and New York with a similar game law. 

176 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



I got from you are doing fine. — R. L. J., 
Kentucky. 

HIS SECOND ORDER. Enclosed please 
find express money order for five dollars for 
which please send me three pairs of your No. 1 
Plymouth Rocks at your earliest convenience. 
A previous ordei which I received from you 
has been doing fine. — J. E. D., Pennsylvania. 

PROLIFIC BIRDS. I purchased 12 pairs 
Homers of you about 18 months ago and they 
have done fine work for me. I have 50 pairs 
mated birds, saved the best ones and sold the 
second class. — J. A. D., Pennsylvania. 

SENT SISTER GOOD BIRDS. I enclose a 
money order for $17.88 for which please send 
three dozen nappies and six pairs blue 
checkers. You sent my sister such fine birds 
that I would like the order duplicated. — H. 
S. B., New York. 

RECOMMENDS OUR BLRDS TO EVERY- 
BODY. The birds arrived in good order and 
I am pleased with them. I have 14 fine birds 
from the first ones I bought of you and I think 
the last four pairs will go to work soon. I 
recommend your birds to everybody. — J. M. 
M., Philadelphia. 

HE KNOWS OUR TEACHINGS ARE 
RIGHT. I have read your Manual carefully, 
studied every point as I went, because I 
wanted to impress it on my mind. I have 
found in my own experience that pigeons do 
just as your Manual says. Your book is 
worth two or three dollars instead of 50 cents. 

I want to thank you for the favor you did 
at finding the weight and charges of some 
things for me. Would you kindly tell me 
what would be the cost of freight charges on 
one hundred, two hundred and three hundred 
pounds of grain? — G. A. S., Georgia. 

FrVE DOLLARS A PAIR WOULD NOT 
BUY HIS. Birds came Friday at noon, and 
accept many thanks for the fine birds you sent 
to me. My friend says $5.00 per pair would 
not buy his. — J. P. B., Georgia. 

PLEASANT BUSINESS FOR A WOMAN. 

You will possibly remember that a year ago 
last April I bought from you twenty-five pairs 
of your Extre Homers. 

1 now have some eighty pairs in my house 
and have used something like two hundred 
squabs. My birds have done well and I have 
lost only one of my original stock. 

I am thoroughly convinced that there is 
money raising squabs and it is a very pleasant 
business for a woman, requiring only a little 



time each day to attend to them and one soon 
becomes very much attached to them — Mrs. 
M. L., Kentucky. 

GENEROUS TREATMENT. The pigeon 
that I wrote you abo.ut a few days ago has 
died. I think it must have been injured in 
shipping. It was a female. I think your 
promise to send another a very generous one, 
and I would appreciate it very much. In 
about two or three months I expect to order 
more birds of you. The others are doing 
excellently. — A. H. B., Massachusetts. 

TRADE BEGETS TRADE. I have been 
instrumental in making some sales of pigeons 
for you. At least I have recommended you to 
several people who said they would buy of you. 
Did a doctor of Fairhope buy a lot 
of pigeons of you? He came over here to see 
me about what I thought of the business and I 
recommended you to him strongly. I just 
sold 30 pair of my pigeons to Dr. O. F. Caw- 
thon and E. J. Buck and I recommended them 
to buy 10 or 12 pairs of you. I will continue 
to advertise you all I can. Later on I want 
to rearrange my house and build up a big 
place and I will send to you for what I need. 
— M. O., Alabama. 

GOOD INCREASE IN SIX MONTHS. 

Yesterday I wrote you for the Manual or 
National Standard Squab Book, but I forgot 
to tell you of some of your birds I have seen. 
Last August or September a doctor friend of 
mine in Brunswick bought of you six pairs of 
Homers. In two or three weeks they began 
to lay and hatch. He sold four or five pairs 
at $1.00 to $2.00 a pair. He has now between 
seventy and eighty total. They are beauties 
and if mine are as pretty and do as well I don't 
think I will be disappointed. Please send 
Manual as quick as possible. — G. S., Georgia. 

GOOD RECORD FOR FIRST MONTH. I 

deem it will be gratifying if you know how the 
13 pair of Homers I received from you on May 
3d are doing. 

There has not been a sick one in the lot and 
they are very much admired by all who sec 
them, and are pronounced first-class Extra 
stock. 

They are contented and very busy all the 
time. Eight pairs are breeding now, with 
three nests each having a pair of nice healthy 
squabs. I think this a splendid record for the 
first month in a new home. — S. H. W., Penn- 
sylvania. 

LOST HIS TEXT BOOK. Please find en- 
closed $1.00, and send me another Nat- 
ional Standard Squab Book. I have mis- 



Remember, these a r e stories told in 1906, by customers who are reaL'y raising squabs 
with our birds and not merely talking about what they are going to do. They are getting 
satisfactory results day after day. 

177 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED B"X 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906 



placed my other one and can't find it. _ My 
birds are doing well. I have had 15 pairs of 
young birds since I had them. I sold one pair 
of old white birds for three dollars to a bird 
store. — H. K., Missouri. 

ATTRACTING ATTENTION. Please to 
send some literature to address of gentleman 
enclosed, descriptive of the squab business, 
and give him prices on same. I have been 
talking with him in regard to the business and 
as he has a couple of farms over in Michigan, 
I have no doubt but what he will make an 
' investment. 

The pigeons that I purchased of you last 
spring are doing very nicely. Our pen is 
attracting considerable attention. We have 
about 75 in it now and we are about to build 
larger accommodations. — T. T., Illinois. 

ENLARGING PLANT. Will you kindly 
advise the address of party who purchases 
pigeon manure? 

My birds are getting along very nicely. 
Intend putting up a large house for them in 
the near future and will write you later regard- 
ing wire for flies. — B. T., New York. 

SWAMPED WITH SQUAB ORDERS. It 

is impossible for me to fill the orders that I 
have for squabs. I am sending you an order. 
Please get them out as soon as possible. 
When I receive them, I will order another 
dozen Extras. I now have about 350 pair of 
breeders. They are doing fine. — H. S., 
Louisiana. 

SATISFIED WITH ALL. I received the 
two baskets containing 36 birds on Thursday. 
Pardon delay in not answering sooner, as I 
was out of town. I am perfectly satisfied 
with all the birds I bought of you and hope to 
be able in the future to =<=cure more. Am 
shipping the two baskets this morning by 
National express, homeward bound. — J. W., 
New York. 

GOOD REPORT. Please find enclosed a 
money order for which please ship me 12 pair 
pigeons as I saw some birds which you shipped 
to Mr. Walter of this town._ I received a 
booklet from your firm some time ago but did 
not order birds until I saw Mr. Walter report 
on his. I decided to give you an order if 
you can send me mixed colors. Ship via 
Adams express. Wishing you success. — L. D., 
Pennsylvania. 

ONE YEAR'S GOOD TRIAL. Quote me 
prices on your No. 1 Homers. Those I 
bought of you one year ago are doing nicely. 
— C. M. R., Pennsylvania. 



THIS LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY ONE 
OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO HIS FRIEND IN 
A NEIGHBORING TOWN. I am pleased 
to know that you are getting along so nicely 
with your squab house. Wish you could see 
the last consignment of birds I received from 
the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. of Boston. 
They are beauties, and they commenced 
building their nests the second day after they 
arrived. I have no idea where you are going 
to purchase your birds but I certainly think 
you will make no mistake if you get them 
from Mr. Rice, for the ones he sent me are 
the finest I ever saw. 

I am confident if you buy your birds of Mr. 
Rice he will use you right for he has done the 
right thing by me. — F. B., New York. 

WANTS 500 PAIRS IN THE SPRING. My 

pigeons are doing very well but they are 
shedding a great many feathers. I want to 
make arrangements early in the spring for 
500 pairs of your best stock, but before build- 
ing my houses I want to take a trip to Melrose 
and look your plant over, in order to get all 
the ideas about construction, maintenance, 
etc. I enclose separate slip with a few 
questions that I would like to have you answer 
if it is not too much trouble. — J. W., North 
Carolina. 

LOST ONLY ONE BIRD, AND THAT BY 
ACCIDENT. I recently bought a few; pairs 
of birds that you sold to a gentleman in this 
city about March 1st. He was moving to St. 
Louis and had to dispose of the birds. With 
what I got from you and the seven pairs I 
bought from him I now have 65 birds. Have 
never lost but one bird and that was my own 
fault for I was experimenting on it and accident- 
ally killed it. I have a market in St. Louis for 
all I can ship at $4.00 per dozen. If not ask- 
ing too much would you kindly give me the 
address of a couple of Chicago and New York 
commission men that handle squabs. — W. E. 
T., Missouri. 

STARTED WELL. I write you in regard 
to the pigeons you will remember we bought 
of you (24 pairs) about two years ago this 
month. Our Homers have done very nicely. 
I have about 200 pairs. We sold 40 pairs 
last year. We have quite a nice little plant 
started. — A. C, Wisconsin. 

DOING WELL, GOING TO BUILD. Please 
send me a plan for your multiple unit house. 
My pigeons are doing fine. — D. B., Illinois. 

STARTED IN TO MAKE REFORMS. 

Please find enclosed check for nine dollars 



Somebody handling the small stunted Homers may tell you that eight pounds to the 
dozen is good weight for squabs and that squabs are not bred to weigh more from Homers. 
That is true, from his Homers. In these pages you will find that eight pounds is low for 
Plvmouth Rock Homer squabs. 

178 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906, 



lor which kindly send us one dozen drinking 
fountains. We would like you to get these 
off as soon as possible. 

I was very much pleased with my visit to 
your plant at Melrose which I made yesterday, 
especially with your facilities for mating 
birds up. Got some new ideas along with a 
lot of good advice from your superintendent, 
and to-day have started in to make a few 
new reforms here. — T. H. D., Connecticut. 

KNOWS PLYMOUTH ROCKS BY EX- 
PERIENCE. I saw your advertisement of 
Homer Pigeons in a magazine. I would like 
very much for your company to send me one 
of your catalogues, and how much you charge 
for Homers a pair. I know from experience 
that a Plymouth Rock Homer is a good 
breeder. A friend of mine got some from 
your people a short time ago, but I did not 
inquire as to the price of them. In answer 
to letter from you, I will send for some, and 
if thev are satisfactory, I will be glad to get 
more, as I am a great pigeon fancier. — W. 
A., Illinois. 

ONE YEAR'S SATISFACTION. Send one 
bushel of Kaffir corn and one bushel of Canada 
peas to me. It may interest you to know that 
the birds I bought from you a year ago are in 
every way satisfactory. I have doubled the 
number of workers in that time and have had 
all I wanted for my own table, and sold quite a 
number. — J. B. H., Massachusetts. 

SOME WEIGH 14 OUNCES WHEN 15 
DAYS OLD. I received your pigeons in May 
when I was in Longueuil. They have done 
well, as I have had some which weigh 14 
ounces at 15 days old. What do you think 
of a mirror in my squab house? I will be 
very pleased to receive all your advertising 
booklets. — G. C, Canada. 

SUNFLOWER SEEDS ARE GOOD. Your 
book doesn't say anything about feeding 
pigeons sunflower seeds. Will they eat them 
or isn't it good for them to have them ? Please 
let me know. The pigeons I got from you are 
doing pretty well, I think. I may get more 
next year. — B. J., Vermont. 

Answer. Sunflower seeds are a good pigeon 
food and are used by many of our customers. 
They are rich and oily and should not be fed 
in excess, but as a dainty. A good way to 
feed them is to throw the whole head in front 
of the birds and let them pick out the seeds 
themselves with their bills. 

BREED WELL IN CALIFORNIA. En- 

closed find money order for 40 cents for which 



kindly send me two feet of your aluminum 
tubing for bands. Also send one of your 
price lists, as mine has been mislaid. 
Twenty-four pairs of Homers purchased of 
you one year ago are doing fine. Flock now 
numbers 150. — W. J. M., California. 

CONTINUOUS SATISFACTION. Enclosed 
find check which is to cover enclosed order. 
All the birds which you have sent me so far 
are very satisfactory.— G. S., New York. 

FINEST BIRDS AROUND. Your birds I 
bought of you a year ago are going fine — the 
finest birds around, so my friends say. — Mrs. 
J. J. M., Massachusetts. 

HOTEL KEEPER RAISING HIS TABLE 
SQUABS. Am very glad to know that you 
were pleased with our menus and will con- 
tinue mailing them to you from time to time 
if you do not object. I hope that the temp- 
tation will be strong enough to cause you to 
come to our city and look over our squab 
farm. I have been quite successful and have 
a fine lot of birds. It is more than likely, 
however, that I shall want some additional 
birds in the very near future. I would like a 
few show Homers, Dragoons and Runts" 
For squab raising purposes, I could not ask 
anything better than I now have. Will mail 
you an order for supplies in a few days. — W. 
S., Georgia. 

BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY BIRDS. Will you 
please quote me the price of your wicker 
shipping baskets, size for 12 pairs, or kindly 
forward me the address of the manufacturers 
of same. Also state in your letter if the drop- 
pings must be entirely free from straw and 
feathers, or reasonably so, to satisfy the pur- 
chasers at the tanneries. The six pairs I pur- 
chased of you two years agu have increased to 
150 or 170, besides what I have killed, and the 
stock has proven entirely satisfactory in every 
way. I have taken pains to follow your 
instructions to the letter so now I have the 
above number of beautiful, healthy birds. — 
W. H. Y., New York. 

Answer. It is impossible to get all straw 
and feathers entirely out of the manure. 
Sweep out what you can with a broom before 
cleaning the squab hovAse. The leather peo- 
ple do not care if some scraw and feathers get 
in but they do not want gravel and tobacco 
stems. The latter discolor and stain when 
wet. 

BIRDS THAT FLY AWAY. On about 
April 20. 1905, we bought of you six Plymouth 
Rock Homer pigeons. Since then they have 



For six years we nave had a complete monopoly of the fine trade cf the United States. We 
sell more Homers every year than all other firms and breeders combined. The reason for this 
is that our birds demonstrate their value and make friends wherever they go. This supremacy 
We intend to maintain. 



179 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



done exceedingly well, and we have got a 
pretty good start in pigeons now,_ but what 
I write you to-day for is this. This morning 
at 9 o'clock one of the birds we got of you got 
out of the flying pen. She flew into the air and 
started for Boston. This was a brown bird, 
and we thought she might arrive at her 
destination, so I wish you to keep a lookout 
for her and see if you can tell if she gets there. 
If she does arrive, would you mind letting me 
know? I am anxious to know if she gets 
there. This was a female bird_ and she left 
a young bird about a week old in the nest. — 
R. H., Iowa. 

Answer. No Homer would fly that dis- 
tance. We receive many letters like the 
above. Customers should watch the doors 
of squab-house and pens and not let their 
birds get away. 

LARGE, HEAVY AND FULL-BREASTED. 

Enclosed find money order for one more 
dozen pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers. 

I did not rush a letter down to you the 
same afternoon I received the other birds for 
the reason that I wanted to try them out 
first. The dozen pair of Plymouth Rocks, 
on their arrival weighed exactly 22 pounds, 
while a few days later I received another 
dozen pair from another company and they 
weighed only 17 pounds. They were not 
full-breasted like your birds. 

I received first shipment on the 2nd of 
March. They are now working like good 
fellows. Have three nests with eggs in. 

You will hear from me occasionally with 
further orders. — A. P. S., Michigan. 

WANTS TO BUY SOME GOOD ONES. 
Kindly send your catalogue and any other 
printed matter you have about pigeons. An 
acquaintance wants to buy some good birds 
and he is going to look at my lot that I 
received last Thursday. I feel sure I can 
land him as a customer for you. — H. D. C, 
Pennsylvania. 

GOING SLOWLY. Please send free book, 
"How to Make Money with Squabs." The 
birds bought of you are doing well now and 
some of their young are hatching. Have 
enough now to ship a dozen a month now. — 
W. M., Maryland. 

JUST THE BIRDS. I thought I would 
let you know how my birds are getting along. 
They arrived on Tuesday, May 1st, as I wrote 
you. Thursday of the same week one pair 
had commenced to build. At this writing 
four pairs have eggs. The others are build- 
ing. That is what I call going right to work. 



I am very much pleased with them. There 
was a party here this morning looking at 
them. He talks of putting in one hundred 
pair, and says they are just the birds that he 
wants. He is coming up to see your plant. 
Of course I showed him my birds and told 
him just what they were doing and where 
they came from so I think he will be a cus- 
tomer for you. I shall advertise the Plymouth 
Rock birds wherever I have a chance. Thank 
you for your kindness. — J. C, New Jersey. 

SQUABS WEIGHING ONE POUND APIECE 
WHEN ONE MONTH OLD. I received my 
pigeons from you April 20, 1905. I have one 
pair that has hatched eleven (II) times up to 
the 22nd day of April, 1906, so you can see 
that they have had fairly good care. I now 
have 110 birds and am getting them fast now 
and will commence shipping when I get 70 
or 80 pairs. I have weighed a number of 
birds four weeks old that weighed 16 ounces 
and I think that is very good. — L. F., Iowa. 

QUICKLY AT WORK. Please pardon my 
delay in acknowledging the receipt (right 
side up) of the pigeons you shipped to me at 
Harpers Ferry, W. Va., which place I left 
before the shipment arrived. My wife 
informed me that they were all in good shape 
and the finest specimens she ever saw. Also 
thought they had returned the baskets to you. 
As soon as I go home, which will be in a few 
days, will send you another order. My wife's 
third letter tells me that 16 pairs out cf the 18 
have gone to setting. Don't think you can 
beat that at home. We have everything good 
to feed them peas, kaffir corn, wheat and 
millet, ana we intend to make a success of 
the business. — W. S., Virginia. 

SQUABS HAVE AVERAGED ONE POUND 
APIECE. Enclosed please find certified 
check for $173.98 for which kindly send me 
birds and supplies as enclosed. Kindly send 
the shipment of birds as soon as possible as 
I would like to receive them before Tuesday. 
All my birds are doing nicely. My squabs, 
under your system of feeding, have averaged 
a pound apiece and I expect from the present 
outlook of things to make them average a 
good deal more. — E. H. M., Pennsylvania. 

THIS WOMAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 
KNOWS WHAT A FINE HOMER IS. A 

week ago I wrote you complaining of non- 
acknowledgment of my remittance sent in 
with my order. As I was beginning to 
wonder if it had miscarried, I am pleased to 
be able to inform you that I received the best 
possible answer to my letter in arrival of 
the birds I ordered from you. They arrived 



The equipment at our farm for mating birds cost $2000 and no expense was spared to 
make it perfect. A thousand mating coops are in constant use. The principal mating house 
is heated by hot water so as to get the best and quickest results in the cold months. 



180 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



about the same time as your letter (May 1st). 
All of them are in first-class condition and I 
am very pleased with them, as I consider 
that they are a fine lot of birds, and I think I 
know what a fine Homer is when I see it, as 
my father and brothers have bred and sold 
trained flying Homers for years in Lancashire, 
England, some of them worth twenty-five 
dollars a pair. Although I never heard of 
squab raising before I came to Canada three 
years ago, when I first saw your book adver- 
tised in Munsey's I thought it was some kind 
of game bird reared in captivity, and sent for 
your book more out of curiosity than any- 
thing else. I think I shall like the business 
very much and shall probably be sending 
anothsr order in a month or two when I see 
how i • o on with the birds I have got. Thank 
you v_./ much for the two pairs extra you 
sent, also nest bowls. They were a very 
agreeable surprise to me as I did not expect 
anything like that on such a small order. 
The express charges were six dollars, and 25 
cents duty on nest bowls. If you would 
write me from time to time giving me your 
prices I shall be much obliged. — Mrs A. R., 
Canada. 

SQCTABS WEIGHING- FROM 13 TO 16 

OUNCES. Please send me at your earliest 
convenience the names of reliable merchants 
to whom I can ship squabs, in New York. 
The 80 pairs I bought of you last fall are doing 
well. I sold squabs that weighed from 13 
ounces to almost one pound apiece. I have 
over ICO pairs of young ones that I am sav- 
ing for stock. — H. J., Ohio. 

WORTH THEIR PRICE. Some time ago 
I sent you an order for three pairs No. 1 and 
three pairs Extra Homers, stating that I 
wished to compare with Homers a friend of 
mine was ordering at a very much lower 
figure. In a word, after due comparison, I 
order six more pairs Extras. Please send me 
fine birds. — C. J., Illinois. 

SQUABS WEIGHING 16 TO 17 OUNCES 
EACH. Please find enclosed remittance for 
which send me 12 pairs and supplies noted. 
The dozen pairs you sent me started h to do 
business last month, having been moulting up 
to that time. The first two pairs squabs 
hatched, at one month old, weighed one pound 
each, with one that was 17 ounces. That is 
very good, is it not ? I am well pleased with 
them. Make this dozen as good and I shall 
be more pleased. — C. B. G., Connecticut. 

HIS FOURTH ORDER. Enclosed you will 
please find money order for which you will 
please send me as soon as possible one dozen 



pairs Extra bred Homers (fourth order.) — L 
C, Louisiana. 

SUPERIOR IN LOOKS AND WORKS. 

The birds (60 pairs) arrived on the late train 
from_ St. Paul on Sunday night last, and 
remained in the depot here until early on the 
following morning when we took them home. 
Outside of the injured ones mentioned, I will 
say that the birds arrived in perfect condition 
and are fully up to what we expected them to 
be. They are now " at home " and present 
^ beautiful appearance. The birds which you 
sent me last November (nine months ago) are 
entirely satisfactory, and " out-class '* any 

I received from the or those which my 

friend here received from the same people. 
Mine are plump, his are " cranish," long-legged 
and long-necked. I would not keep that kind 
of birds. My triend has not accommodations 
for pigeons, and wanted to sell out. A doctor 
who for several years rented offices in my law 
office building here, looked them over with the 
view of purchasing the outfit, and I advised 
him to do so, to get a start in the business. 
He visited my lofts, and saw my birds, wanted 
to buy some from me, and after he saw mine, 
he would not buy of my friend. I gave him 
your address, but have not seen him since, 
and do not know whether he has made a pur- 
chase or not. I have none to sell at this time 
as we are trying to increase the .flock to at 
least 1200, for which we have ample accommo- 
dations, then we will begin to sell. 

There is no mistake in saying that the birds 
which I received from you, out-class those 

which the -have sent here. If your 

Mr. Rice should ever come to this country I 
would be pleased to have him stay with me 
and look over the " greatest " farming coun- 
try on earth. 

My elder boy (17 years of age) visited the 
great Minnesota State Fair. Saw Dan Patch 
break his record, reducing it to 1.55 flat. He 
looked the pigeons over as a matter of course, 
and he tells me that he could find no Homers 
there which compared with ours. He intends 
to_ exhibit some at the fair next fall. — H. M., 
Minnesota. 

MADE A SUCCESS AND GOING AHEAD 
ON A BIG PLANT. I have a party that wants 
to go into the squab business with me, and it 
is possible that I will call on you during Nov- 
ember for 2000 breeders. I have done very 
well with the 800 I have, encouraging enough 
to put in quite an extensive plant. I would 
like to have your personal opinion as to 
whether 2000 birds will do as well in 20 units of 
100 birds each with one fly 12x48x200 as they 
would m 20 units with 20 flies 10xl2x4S. On 



Our whole time and energies are given to squabs. We handle trade as it ought to be 
handled — promptly, courteously and thoroughly, with every detail attended to. Letters are 
answered at once. It is a business with us, pushed steadily every day in the year except Sun- 
iays and holidays, and not a side issue or an amusement. 



181 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



LATEST NEWS FROM THE NEW YORK 
MARKET; HIGH PRICES WHICH ARE 
GOING HIGHER BECAUSE OF THE NEW 
LAW FORBIDDING ENTIRELY THE SALE 
OF QUAIL EXCEPT IN NOVEMBER AND 
DECEMBER. I take the liberty of asking 
you for a little more advice for the birds I 
bought from you last November. Of sick- 
ness I have not seen any sign of it. I lost only 
two of them, one of apoplexy I think, because 
it fell like shot dead, the other one died of 
diarrhoea. Of the young squabs, the cas- 
ualties have been a little higher, but out of 
50 I did not lose more than six, or 12 per 100. 

Now I wish you would give me your 
opinion how I have progressed, if I am on the 
regular avenge or if I am under it. 

The prices for squabs on the 1" York 
market have been very high all winter — have 
reached as high as $6.50 a dozen for squabs 
of over 10 pound a dozen, and $4.50 for birds 
of near eight pound or so. Of course private 
trade is better and I have been able to sell 
squabs for 50 cents apiece easily. 

I have a set of birds that give me three 
eggs and have hatched them successfully 
with three days late for the extra one. Does 
that happen often? — H. G., New York. 

WILL NOT BUY ANY HOMERS BUT 
PLYMOUTH ROCKS. Last May I ordered 

from you twel /e Plymouth Rock Homers. 
They arrived on the eighth of May and on the 
twelfth of the same month the first egg was 
laid. Five pairs of them went to work almost 
immediately and have been at work ever 
since. I raised the squabs during the summer. 
I have now 13 pairs of mature pigeons. Twelve 
pairs work constantly and I am very much 
pleased with them and want to thank you 
for them and as you are so kind as to offer to 
answer questions and to help we people who 
do not know all about raising squabs I shall 
be so much obliged if you will give me a little 
help. My present ambition is to increase my 
plant. I want to buy some Extras from you 
as soon as I can raise the capital. I can buy 
Homers nearer home but yours have done so 
well for me that whatever new stock I get I 
would like to get from you. You say in your 
book that you will give your patrons the 
address of a good New York buyer. Will you 
please send me the address? — C. O., New 
Jersey. 

BRANCHING OUT. Please quote me your 
best figures on the following: Homer pigeons 
in pairs ready to go to work in lots of 20, 50 
and 100 pair lots. Hempseed in bushel lots. 
Health grit in 100 pound lots. I have your 
prices of last year but presume there are some 
changes. I purchased 12 pairs of Homers 
from you last spring and they raised me about 

These are strong letters. Read them over. You want some assurance, when you buy 
pigeons, that you will be treated right, as these customers were. 

182 



account of labor I would prefer the one large 
fly, but I want no experiments and leave the 
matter with you. I can get $4.00 per dozen 
for a large portion of my squabs, and would 
like to have an opinion as to what 5000 of 
your breeders would net us yearly when we 
raise our own feed on the farm. 

WE SUPPLY HENS TO THOSE WHO 
NEED THEM. After recommending your 
firm to A. F. Kennelley of this city and he 
being a purchaser from you recently, I find 
that he is well pleased with treatment accord- 
ed him. Enclosed please find $5.00 for five 
female birds to be used as breeders. I bought 
some birds from a friend of mine and he had 
five odd cocks which I want to mate up. 
You will forward these by first express to my 
address.— H. E. W., Ohio.. 

BEST BIRDS HE EVER SAW. The 

Homers ordered from you reached me in due 
time and in excellent condition. They 
certainly are the finest birds I ever saw. I 
really believe they are a finer lot than the 
first consignment, if that be possible. The 
second day after their arrival they commenced 
building their nests, which I imagine is a 
pretty good record. 

Some of my friends have secured birds from 
other parties and although I have not seen 
their birds, I am confident they can't tell me 
that they have a finer lot than mine. _ 

If I have an opportunity of securing you 
any customers I shall be only too glad to do 
so.— B. Y., New York. 

BEST HOMERS IN CALIFORNIA. Birds 
received in Al condition. Your birds have 
stirred up quite some interest here and what I 
hear from people who know is that your birds 
ar° the best in the colony. As it is I am well 
pleased with the bunch. I have a house 
12 x 32 feet divided into four pens 8x9 feet 
with a three-foot passage running the length 
and everything up to date. That also has 
opened their eyes in the building and arrange- 
ments in an up-to-date squab house. I have 
had the birds less than a week and am pretty 
well advertised already. The market here 
is strong at $3.00 to $3.50 and the demand 
far exceeds the supply. — C. H., California. 

SOLD YOUNGSTERS FOR $2 A PAIR IN 

KANSAS. Enclosed find remittance for one 
leg band outfit. My pigeons have been doing 
fine, and are keeping busy all the time. Have 
sold off the young pigeons at eight weeks old 
for $2.00 per pair. What is the difference in 
Canada peas and the peas we raise here? 
Will the common peas do to feed to the 
pigeons? — G. W. S., Kansas. 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906k 



60 voung ones by the first of November. — 
R. W. H., Iowa. 

BLOOD AND HIGH BREEDING COUNT. 

Enclosed find draft for which you will send 
by Pacific express, Extra Homers, as per 
memorandum. Several weeks ago I ordered 

1 5 pairs of . When the birds came I did not 

think they were much more than common 
birds. A friend in our town wanted some 
breeders and I got him to try your birds. 
They came last night. There is a big differ- 
ence between the birds. My first birds do 
not show any white on bill to amount to any- 
thing and they are most all white or very 
light color. Yours show their high breeding. 
Blood tells, when you put them together. I 
sold mine at half price to-day to get shut of 
them. What I want is blooded stock or 
nothing. Please send me a good collection 
of assorted colors, blues, reds and checkers. 
I ordered one of your squab books some time 
ago and I think it the best I ever read on 
pigeons. — J. A., Missouri. 

TRIFLING DEATH LOSSES. In January 
of this year I purchased 12 pairs of your 
Extras. They are now (April) in fine condi- 
tion and have hatched out 24 young ones, 22 
of which are living and doing fine. — W. J., 
Massachusetts. 

SEVEN PAIRS WORTH $25, THIS 
ARKANSAS CUSTOMER THINKS. Writing 
you a few lines to let you know that I got the 
pigeons all O.K. They were all well. I got 
them two weeks to-day and out of the seven 
pairs, four pairs of them have built and are 
setting on eggs already. I would have 
written you sooner but wanted to see what 
they were going to do. I would not take 
$25 for the seven pairs. Sending the basket 
back this evening with the letter. You can 
put this letter on your list. I think it is the 
only one from Arkansas. — C. W„ Arkansas. 

GOOD SHOWING AFTER THEIR 3000- 
MILE JOURNEY. Enclosed please find Wells 
Fargo Express money order for $1.70 for which 
please send me by mail post paid, one leg 
band outfit at your very earliest convenience. 
My birds received from you March 17 are 
doing fine. They got right to work and one 
month from the day I received them I had 
three pairs of squabs hatch. Since then one 
more pair has hatched and two more pairs are 
setting and two pairs building. I think that 
is a pretty good showing in six weeks for 10 
pairs after travelling 3000 miles. I lost one 
hen. She got sick and I could not find what 
was the trouble. She did not have diarrhoea, 
but just seemed to droop and die. The 
x'emainder of them are as fine as could be. 



Will you please quote me prices on nine pail 
Extra Homers to be delivered in June cr Tuly. 
Cannot tell yet just when I will be readv for 
them, but either June or July sure. Best 
wishes for your continued success. — E. M., 
California. 

ARKANSAS CUSTOMER IS PLEASED 
WITH SQUARENESS. I received your Man- 
ual a day after I wrote that letter, and J. 
received another one. I have sold both of 
them, and find enclosed $1.00 to pay for your 
extra one and another one for myself. You 
people treated me so well I won't buy any 
Homers from anybody else. I was surprised 
at your squareness and have told every one 
about it and got them all a-going in the right 
direction. I was very, very much pleased 
with your Manual. — G. R., Arkansas. 

HIS MONEY TALKS FOR HIM. Last 

August I purchased 124 pairs of your Extras 
and am now in the market for about 375 pairs 
more. I am also in need of some extra hens 
of the same quality. Can you supply same? 
Also let me know if you can furnish these birds 
in pairs in the following colors: blues, blue 
checkers and red checkers in any number I 
may desire. Please state your very lowest 
price on above number of pairs. Let me hear 
from you by return mail, as I am in a great 
rush for the birds. — S. T., Indiana. 

CANNOT SAY TOO MUCH IN PRAISE OF 
OUR HEALTH GRIT. Enclosed find $2.00 
for 100 pounds of health grit. I find this grit 
the best on the market for pigeons. I cannot 
say too much for it as it keeps the pigeons in 
fine health. Although the price is high I 
would never be without it. I have quite a 
few people that want to get this grit from me. 
Can you let me have it cheaper, so that I can 
make something out of it? Answer and let 
me know. — R. O., New Jersey. 

BIG SQUAB FARM WHOSE OWNER 
BOUGHT HIS BREEDERS OF US. I visited 
a squab farm last Sunday and before I left 
found that the owner bought his breeders of 
your company, five hundred pairs. He has 
1100 pairs at present and is making a fortune. I 
After seeing this farm I was more than con* ' 
vinced that the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. .' 
is O. K. If I get as good a lot of birds as 
he has I certainly will be pleased. 

I am sorry that I did not figure on handling 
more birds than I did. Have built house to 
accommodate 100 birds. Enclosed find stamps 
for which please send plans and specifications 
for squab houses. No doubt you will receive 
a larger order from me in a short time. Will 
notify you in a few days when to ship birds. 



Beware of anybody who tries to make a sale to you by running down the Plymouth Rock 
Squab Co. Insist that he show you letters like these in proof of his claims. 



188 



1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 

STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 



I want to have every tning complete before I 
have them shipped. : — I. S., New York. 

HAS TRIED THEM AND KNOWS. I am 

at present debating with myself and with 
some of my relations in regard to starting in 
the pigeon business. My folks are trying to 
persuade me that it is going to cost too much 
to start, and that I will not realize any great 
profits very soon. As I see, and at the best 
■I can figure it out, it will take about S100 to 
start in with fifty pairs of breeders and build a 
home to accommodate them, getting the price 
of building down as low as possible with lum- 
ber at its present price. What I want to 
know is, do you think it would pay me to start 
and about how long do you think it would 
take to get back the amount paid out if I 
relied entirely on the birds ? 

I think I could get it back in four months 
at the most, because I have three pairs I pur- 
chased of you in January, besides the young 
ones I have raised. I have watched and studied 
their ways and know something about them. 
I know how fast they breed, etc. Now am I 
right in my estimation as to the time it would 
take to regain my money and would you 
advise me to start if possible ? My birds I 
have now are doing fine. — S. A., Massachusetts. 

MANURE FOR SALE. Will you please 
give me the address of some firm to which I 
can sell my pigeon manure ? My pigeons are 
doing well this spring. — T. O., New York. 

RHODE ISLAND SUCCESS. I am enclos- 
ing money order for which kindly send me 
enclosed supplies. If this money order does 
not cover cost do not delay the grain but 
send me bill for extra. My birds are all doing 
finely.— B. O., Rhode Island. 

THIS IS THE KIND OF PLAIN TALK ONE 
LIKES TO HEAR. I am finding.out for my- 
self if there was money in squabs and I have 
found it to be true by other squab breeders. 
I was to a man's place this afternoon and he 
said he had no trouble in selling his squabs 
for a good price. I guess the only trouble 
is people are sleeping half the time. That's 
why they don't know much about squab 
breeding. If a fellow doesn't believe in squab 
breeding, all he has to do is to open his eyes 
and look around. I've been to a couple of 
bird shows and have seen nothing to go ahead 
of your birds yet. My friend was saying what 
nice birds thev had at the show, and I thought 
I would go down with him. We had to pay 
25 cents to get in. After we looked at the 
birds, he said that mine would get the first 
prize if I would take them down. Then I 
found out that I have some of the biggest birds 



in town. I would like to get some pictures 
taken and show you some of the birds I got 
from yours. I found your book to be a book 
anybody can read and knows what he is read- 
ing about. Everything is so plain — what a 
beginner wants to know about breeding birds. 
I was thinking of sending you my third order. 
If I do, it will be next week. Hoping you are 
doing a good business. My birds are doing 
fine. Your birds are the best breeders and I 
won't take any others. — S. C. H., Wisconsin. 

NEST BOWLS ALL RIGHT. Please find 

a money order for one dozen more of your nest 
bowls. They are O. K. Put them in the 
house one evening and on going in the next 
found that a pair had already taken posses- 
sion and started a nest. Have 11 pair setting 
on eggs and they are doing fine. I intend to 
purchase more from you later as I am going 
to build a unit to start this spring and enclose 
money for your plans for squab houses. 
Wishing you every success. — W. A., Massa- 
chusetts. 

ENLARGING. Enclosed find check for 
which please send me seven pairs of your 
Extra Homers and one dozen fibre nests. 
Send by American express. This time I 
would like to have different colored birds. 
The birds and supplies you sent me in Janu- 
ary came in good shape. I was well pleased 
with same. Am thinking some of putting in 
50 or 100 pairs more this summer if I can 
arrange for another house. — H. B., Indiana. 

BEST EVER SEEN IN OKLAHOMA. 

Enclosed please find money order for which 
send me your best Extra Homers as specified. 
Send all blue-speckled birds, as shown on 
right of special offer sheet. Your last ship- 
ment of birds are fine ones and every one that 
has seen them say they are the finest they ever 
saw. Trusting these will be the same or 
better and that I may receive them at your 
earliest convenience. — W. H., Oklahoma. 

BUYING MORE AFTER ONE YEAR'S 
EXPERIENCE. A little over a year ago, I 
bought 24 pairs of your pigeons. Now I wish 
to buy 300 pairs of your Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers and am fixing a house for them 
and will be in s iape to receive 75 pairs a 
month, say March 1, April 1, May 1 and June 
1. I see that SI. 70 per pair is your price in 
lots of 300 pairs and upwards. I should 
want the best birds as I believe they are the 
cheapest. Now if this arrangement is all 
right, vou can let me know and I will send 
you $127.50 for the first 75 pairs. I want 
your best birds. — E. F., Ohio. 



Is there anybody in your town who has failed at squab raising? Some play at pigeons 
as they would with a new toy, then give them up. If they bought of us the trouble is with 
them and not with the pigeons. 

184 



APPENDIX D 

(Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice) 



Squab market prospects for 1908 and 1909 are excellent, as encouraging as they ever have 
been — always a hungry demand. 

To keep the subject up to date we give on the following pages a fresh lot of facts bearing 
on the industry. 

We have pictures mostly contributed by customers to whom we have sold breeding stock. 

During the past ten years the demand for squabs has more than kept pace with the supply 
and this is true today (January, 1908) although the supply has been systemized by us and 
enormously increased, for in this period we have sold over half a million Homers, and we 
estimate that now there are breeding on the Western Continent, from these Plymouth Rock 
Homers, at least two million pairs of Homers. The squabs from these Homers bred from stock 
originally sold by us are in every market on this continent where poultry is sold. 

These figures show what we have done for the squab industry, and they are conservative. In 
fact, before we began shipping breeding stock, the squab business was of no volume. Our 
methods and our birds have created this new vast industry. Our efforts, of course, would have 
been useless without the co-operation of a large and enthusiastic body of customers, whose 
Joyalty is our pride and satisfaction. 

Let the good work go on. More people are going to eat squabs. Squabs for dinner are now a 
settled habit with hundreds of thousands of families. Our advertising constantly in the best 
periodicals suggests every week to many new people that squabs are a new delicacy for their 
tables, and thus the demand grows. 

We print on left-hand pages immediately following letters received in December, 1907, from 
three representative New York squab buyers, Messrs. Silz, McLaughlin and Heineman. We 
have selected these to show the present eager market for squabs bred from our birds. They 
were written by these dealers when prices for everything were temporarily set back by the 
short-term panic. Prices for squabs during 1908 and 1909 will be as high or higher than in any 
previous year. 

We have selected these New York marketmen for reference because they have been largely 
instrumental in working with us to standardize and develop the national squab market. Mr. 
McLaughlin's system of grading by weight per dozen is now in common use not only in his own 
city but all over the United States. Refuse to ship your squabs to anybody who offers you a 
small price based on count. Grade your squabs by weight and get what you are entitled to for 
the big squabs bred from our birds. Weigh them yourself and you will know just what you will 
get from the dealer. 

You will see in Mr. Silz's letter that he is pleased to get squabs from our birds because they are 
so much better. Mr. McLaughlin advises our breeders, and to keep free from other kinds. 
Messrs. Heineman advise the use of nothing but our best breed of birds. This is expert testi- 
mony by practical business men who control the squab trade in the largest city in America. 

Knapp & Van Nostrand, 208 to 243 Washington street, New York City, write us under date of 
December 4, 1907, stating that they are paying the following prices for squabs. (This firm 
divides with the three others above mentioned the greater part of the enormous New York 
squab trade). " Ten to twelve pounds to the dozen, S4.50; nine pounds to the dozen $4.00; 
eight pounds, $3.25." Their letter continues: " We receive and sell hundreds of dozens every 
week. Squabs from shippers mentioning your company compare favorably with general receipts 
Sales have increased in New York." 

When customers of curs wish to begin shipping squabs to the four firms above mentioned 
or any other New York squab dealer, we give letters of introduction which will smooth the. way 
for them. 

185 



1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 

No matter in what part of the United States or Canada you live, we will put you in touch 
with your nearest best squab buyer, provided of course you have not a private trade of your 
own, which always pays best. In Pittsburg, for example, there is a concern which has a very 
large trade and is constantly after good squabs. They write us: "For eight-pound squabs we 
are paying $3.00 a dozen, nine-pound $4.25 a dozen. When communicating with your custom- 
ers, kindly let them quote us price on the different sizes. We would like to get in touch with 
some shippers who can supply us the year around with what squabs we want. We can use 
100 pounds to 150 pounds per week. Kindly put us in touch with some good shippers " 

A correspondent living in West 36th street, New York, writes us under date of October 12 
1907, after personal investigation of the New York City markets: "I am studying up the squab' 
business, with the intention of going at it up at my home in Pennsylvania, when I can con- 
veniently see my way to it. Your statement about the market for the product in 1902-1903 
still seems to hold good here in New York. I was down at Washington Market not long ago to 
inqui -e of commission men how the call for squabs runs. They all said that the supply hardly 
equals the demand. Many of them were selling or offering for sale little bony, discolored 
carcasses that would hardly tempt a starved cat. So when I am ready I shall talk business 
with you." 

In the first part of our Manual we quote prices in a great many cities in force in 1903 or 
thereabouts. We have not the space to follow the quotations in these cities year by year 
What is true of New York is true of Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Fran- 
cisco, Seattle, Portland, all the large places. The demand everywhere continues eager at high 
prices as vou can readilv find out for yourself if you live near a city. In your nearest city you 
will find Plymouth Rock squabs going in regularly to the dealers there and dominating the 
market. 

We quote as follows the prices prevailing in New York City from the summer of 1907 to the 
end of the year. These quotations are not retail prices, remember, but are what a dealer paid 
breeders for supolving him with squabs. The first quotation, in each case, is for squabs weigh- 
ing ten pounds to the dozen. The second figure is for squabs weighing nine pounds to the 
dozen. The third figure is for squabs weighing eight pounds to the dozen: 

July 1 $4.50 $4.00 $3.20 

July 22 4.40 3.75 3.15 

August 12 4.20 3.50 3.00 

September 2 4.25. 3.50 2 75 

September 30 4.50 3.75 3.00 

October 14 4.75 3.85 3.25 

November 4 5.00 4.00 3.50 

November 18 4.75 4.00 3.50 

December 2 4.40 3.60 3 25 

December 9 4.20 3.40 3.25 

The reader of all the quotations we print must be impressed that the chorus for the big 
squabs grows each year larger in volume and more insistent. Dealers want the big ones and to 
get them they offer the very attractive bait of substantially-increased prices. It is folly for 
anybody to start breeding squabs now with inferior birds, for his squabs (weighing six or seven 
pounds to the dozen") will be crowded to the back of the counter in every market and the 
breeder will have to be content with a price which will pay for the grain, perhaps, but little 
more. _ This is not unsupported talk by us, unfounded savso, but, in the words of our ex-Presi- 
dent, is a condition and not a theory. We have actually supplied the breeding stock whose 
squabs now constitute the squab markets of the countrv and are making the weights and 
prices. Before we introduced the Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, there were in the New York 
or Philadelphia, or anv markets, no squabs weighing over eight pounds to the dozen. No such 
squabs were traded in because no such squabs existed, in commercial quantity. Now they are 
in the markets every day by thousands of dozens weighing from eight to twelve pounds to the 
dozen. 

The letters which we print on the following pages are selections from a large number received 
by us in 1907. These show a great many facts bearing upon all sides of the industry and we 
recommend their reading for the news they contain. Many of the writers note ways of their 
own showing original thinking and adaptation. We withhold the names and addresses of the 
writers for the business reasons stated so many times by us, but we assure new friends as well as 
old, that all are genuine, everv one, written bv real customers not connected with us in any 
wav exce-ot bv the sale of our birds and supplies to them. The original letters are filed at our 
office in Boston, where we will show them to anybody. If some one is holding back an order 
from us thinking that any letter here is " made up," and cannot come in nerson to Boston to 
see these letters, as many do, we will pay the fee of his representative living in or near Boston 
for examining our files and reporting. Write us first, and we will convince you if given the 
opportunity. 

LETTERS RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

186 



1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 

READ THIS STORY OF SUCCESS BY A MAN 80 YEARS OLD. HE HAS DONE SOME 
ORIGINAL AND EFFECTIVE THINKING. NO BUILDINGS FOR HIM. HE USES AN ATTIC 
ROOM AND GETS THERE." Being old (80 years) , failing spirit drove me out of a mechanical 
business and the prospect before me was to live and lean on my children. I had always been 
a lover and keeper of pigeons from boyhood until a few years since when the telephone, etc. 
came, and I killed all off. My daughter saw your advertisement in a magazine and sent for 
your booklet. I saw at a glance the chance offered. I knew you were telling only what was 
the exact truth about pigeons, and the pictures showed them to be the best kind for the purpose. 
Had I been 20 years younger, I would have gone into it with all my means, so as it was I made 
a very modest beginning. 

In February, April and June you sent me three small lots, 40 in all, not your Extras. I put 
them in an attic where I had birds before with nest boxes, some hung up, some on the floor, 
any way to keep them apart. They soon began to work. Six pairs had eggs in a week. When 
squabs began to come six. seven or eight at a time, a butcher took them, and since then we 
have given him over three dozen in one week. He first paid at rate of $3 per dozen and has 
risen twice since to now, $3.75, and has not been pushed. My daughter takes them in and 
gets the cash as if they were gold or wheat. The butcher says it is not the size but a plump 
breast that tells, so they go large and small many times, between seven and eight pounds to 
the dozen, bled and dressed. Of course my stock has been increased by some getting out of 
nest, or saving some peculiar color. I keep those with odd markings and know them personally. 

The first year the 18 pairs averaged eight pairs each. I do not keep them to be a month old 
as they would all be on the floor then and butcher looks for wool on head. Seeing none he 
says: " How long has this been flying? " So I send them at 24 or 25 days. The younger they 
go, the faster the old ones breed, as well as saving of feed. So since May, 1905, when I began 
with 18 pairs, I have sold 805 squabs and increasecLstock from 18 pairs to 56 pairs, and no 
stint of feed. I sell no manure. 

You are right on feed question. Cabbage is good. I give (when I have it) lettuce, parsley 
and even marshmallow weed and sunflower seeds, but my birds avoid wheat, eating very 
little. They know me personally, come in from outside when I go in and get down under my 
feet. 

My attic where I breed is a queer shape, with two places for them to get outside, and feed 
boxes on floor to give them a chance to hide from the others at times. The other 20 pairs are 
in an old wagon-house with the boxes over head to be away from rats, and a cat there most 
of the time. I suffer some from the makeshift pens I have. I need the arrangement you 
have, though I have a third place for the young unmated. When a pair in that place gets 
young, say 14 days old, I move pair (box and all) at night into one of the regular units and that 
fetches them. 

But here comes what few and those only that know me will believe. In the course of this 
April and May seven pairs have had three eggs each. Three pairs hatched all and are gone to 
butcher. Two more are hatched and doing well and of the two to come, all eggs are good. 
Some have had one smaller than other two, then I take the small one and give it to another 
which has younger or some of same size. I am raising them all. The books say pigeons 
often have only one, but nothing about three. Are we getting a new breed? I have none 
for sale alive so this is no advertisement. 

For squabs I have received in money just double what I spend for feed. — D. G. L., New York. 

Note. There is a great deal of sound sense and experience in the above story of this valued 
customer, written by himself. Eighty years old, and with failing sight! Not much; he is 
young and keen. First, he had confidence that he was being told the truth by us and would 
get good birds, for he had known pigeons all his life. That is half the battle. He sold his 
squabs when they were plump, even if only three weeks old, before they had a chance to walk 
around and train off fat. He treated his birds so that they loved him. 

His butcher had customers which evidentlv did not weigh the squabs. A small plump squab 
is good but a big, plump squab is what 99 dealers out of 100 are after, because they get 
much more money for them. The educated markets once supplied with the big ones do not 
fancy the smaller ones. Our customer if he had started with our Extras would not have been 
content to sell to the butcher, but would have looked up the butcher's customers and received 
also the 50 per cent profit made by the butcher. 

Asto three squabs in a nest, this comes to pass, but we never knew so many cases in a flock 
of this size at the same time. That was extraordinary. 

His practice of changing the smaller squab in a nest for a squab of size equal to the one remain - 
ingis common. With two squabs in the nest, if one grows larger than the other, this means 
he is stronger and is continuallv stealing the share of the parents' food belonging to the little 
one. Take the little one to another nest where there is a squab of its own size, bringing back 
a larger squab equal in size to the one in the first nest. 

His story of success is that of a small flock. He simply makes a small lot, housed in a 
crude way, pay in profits a share of the running expenses of the home. 

LETTERS RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

187 




Dec. 2nd,»o7. 



Mr-. Elmer C. Rice, 

Plymouth Rock Squat Co., 

Boston, Mas3. 

Dear Sir:- 

In reply to your letter of Not. 27th. the present 
prices on Squabs you will find on the enclosed card. 

< + «,„ There will not be any let-up in the demand fos Squabs 

4*vL pri0 ? s remaln normal. The season for all game closes 
with the end of this month so there will naturally be a better 
demand for Squabs after that time to take the place of game. 
We use from 175 dozen to 2oo dozen squabs each day. 

t «,< , Yo J? r s< iu a to3 are very much better than others, and 
I think you have accomplished wonders for the Squab industry, 
!n ^nr?i Squal> I ai3er shoUld feel eraterul for your efforts 
» Kiwr ■ ^? e ^» n c y °v u 0U ^ d very appropriately be termed 
" K.IMG * of the_Squab_ b us in es s . 

„„* *v, o wl ^ing to assist you in your continued efforts to 
put the Squab business ahead, we are, 

Very truly yours, 



M/F. .. 



A. SILZ, Inc., 



Pres . 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



THIS IS THE BREEDER OF WHOM WE WRITE AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 56 OF OUR 
MANUAL. HE FED WRONGLY AT THE START AND BLAMED US FOR WO RESULTS, 
BUf HE IS A GOOD FRIEND NOW AND HAS SEEN A GREAT LIGHT. I received tne new 
Manual O.K. Accept my thanks. I think that it is up-to-date in every respect and in 119 way 
far-fetched, nothing but sensible, hard, experienced facts. I notice that you speak of a California 
breeder using nothing but wheat and a handful of hemp with no return for six months. I 
presume it was me you refer to. Well, I deserve d it, for "a guilty conscience needs no accuser. 
I did not feed them enough to keep tnem alive. 

Now, Mr. Rice,' money will not buy the birds. They are beauties, so plump, bright and 
active; working all the time. Even now (September 11, 1907) they are in full force nest build- 
ing. I can point out lot of pairs which are now on their eighth lots of eggs. I would like to 
have any one show me that they have as good birds as I have. It would be a very hard matter 
to convince me that there are any birds as good as the Plymouth Rock Homers of Boston. In 
short, any one who fails with those birds should not biame the birds or Mr. Rice, for it is up to 
them to handle them right. Do not think, Mr. Rice, that I am " fishing " for something. 
Far from it. I am only speaking as my true conscience dictates, that there are no better birds 
than yours. We have just weighed six squabs and they tipped the scales at five pounds, 13 
ounces. How is that? Some will say that Homers cannot do as well as that but I can show 
the goods. The only trouble is the best I can get is $3 a dozen and a private trade at that. 
Have not had a chance to save over one dozen for breeders. 

As regards more birds. I certainly want more of your birds and will want only Extras, as 
I will use the Extras exclusively for raising my breeding stock. I will not be ready until spring 
for them, as I am going to build four more houses. Then I promise you a picture of my house 
worthy to go in your book. All I ask of you is to wait until I have completed my plans. 

Mr. Rice, I have some Maltese hen pigeons I wish to dispose of. There are about 20. Three 
are mated pairs and the rest young ones ranging from two months to seven months. If you 
could trade me your Homers for them, or find me a customer I should thank you. I have 
omy kept them for fancy. Now I will close, wishing you the best of luck. — J. B. W., California. 



GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL IN CALI- 
FORNIA WELL PLEASED. The four pairs 
of Homers shipped to me on October 2, 1907, 
arrived to-day in apparently first-class con- 
dition. The birds appear to be satisfactory 
in every respect. I thank you for the extra 
pair; also for the supplies included. After 
the birds get to work I shall furnish you with 
a further report, and if I have occasion to 
order a<jain, shall not forget your prompt 
and liberal treatment. — C. W. L., Register, 
United States Land Office, Department of the 
Interior, California. 

BETTER AT $1.50 A PAIR THAN WHAT 
HE PAID OTHERS $2.50 A PAIR. SIX 
MORE ORDERS FOLLOW. I have received 
your Plymouth Rock pigeons which you sent 
me in perfect order. I am very much 
pleased with them. They are as good as the 

ones I bought of and for $2.50 

per pair. — P. P., New York. 

Note. The above customer has sent us 
in 1907 up to date (November) six orders. 

ONE HUNDRED MILES IN FIVE HOURS 
IN A STORM. Please send me one of your 
1907 catalogues. The birds that I received 
in April, 1906, are doing finely. I broke them 
in at my loft. I flew one of them 100 miles, 
making the distance in five hours, in rain and 
storms. I will ship him 200 miles in a few 
weeks with others of my birds. I think he 
will do fine in his 200-mile race. — J. M., 
Texas. 



SATISFIED AND BUYS MORE. Some 
time ago I ordered a half-dozen pairs of pig- 
eons from you ; at the same time I ordered six 

pairs from the . I wish to say that I 

have now received all the birds and I have 
concluded that yours are the best. As soon 
as I get a little more ready money I expect to 
order more birds of you. It is my intention 
to build up a large flock just as soon as I can. 
I am perfectly satisfied in my dealing with you. 
You can publish any part of the above letter 
if you want to except the name of the other 
company. 

(Later). Enclosed find check for $18 for 
three pairs of your Carneaux. — L. T. P., New 
York. 

FIVE PAIRS OUT OF SIX IN TWO WEEKS 
AFTER ARRIVAL PROVES FAST MATINGS. 

Received pigeons two weeks ago. I think 
the Extras are far ahead of anything T have 
ever seen. I have had mine only two weeks 
and five pairs have already gone to work. 

Enclosed please find stamps for 37 cents 
for which send me by mail two feet of alum- 
inum tubing. — T. J. S., Iowa. 

BREEDING WELL IN TEXAS. I am 

doing fine with my pigeons and I think they 
are the best kind. I started with 14 in 
November and now (June, 1907), I have 
about 66. They are doing fine. I have sc 
many that I will have to order some wood- 
fibre nestbowls. Find enclosed $3.84 for 
which send me four dozen wood-fibre nest- 
bowls.— W. P. C, Texas. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

189 



TEL. 1288 FRANKLIN. fteferencesi-AN Commercial Agencies. 

Wm. /?. McLaughlin 

COMMISSION MERCHANT 
Poultry, Egg's, Game, Squabs, Calves E-tc. 

362 GREENWICH STREET 

NEW YORK November 29, 1907 

Elmer C. Rice, Esq. , 

Treasurer Plymouth Rock Squab CO., 
Boston, Mass. 

Dear Sir: 

Yours of the 27th duly received. I am pleased to hear from you once 
more. If beginners 'will stick to your breeders, they will have no cause 
to complain as to Bize, quantity and quality of squabs, and net profits 
they receive from same. 

The demand is still good for all the fancy white large squabs we 
can get, and the market' has kept at uniform price for a long time. 
In fact, since the new season started, there has been very little change 
in price. 

The small and mixed lots we must sell to out of town trade where 
everything looking like a squab .goes at a price; while the city trade 
want the larger bird and are willing to pay for them. 

Many do not buy enpugh breeders at the start so that they can ship 
a fair sized lot. 

I can use daily all the squabs I can get and do not look for 
prices to go any lower during the winter, ---if anything, quite some 
advance . 

I think if any two need any praising as to results brought about, 
and profits to raisers, it is you and myself, as I was the first to in- 
troduce selling by weight according to size, and was laughed at for trying, 
even by those who would not now admit the change more than doubled their 
output. The one who does not like the change is the speculator who got 
the large birds for nothing, and the small birds at their actual value,, 
and made the extra profit when selling to consumers. 

I would advise beginners to get a quantity of your breeders; 
keep free from other kinds. They will have no cause to find fault with 
results, and will always have a market and demand at good prices, for 
they can raise and ship at any time of the year. Send me the names of* 
your customers yourself and I will post them as to the market, and send 
shipping cards. 

Yours truly, 




^ 



190 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



STARTED WITH 12 PAIRS AND BRED THEM TO 100 PAIRS. ENLARGING BUILDINGS 
STEADILY. HAS COMPARED PLYMOUTH ROCKS WITH MANY AND FOUND NONE 
SUPERIOR. Your letter of October 24, 1907, received, and wish to thank you for the informa- 
tion furnisned. Two years ago I built a pigeon house ten feet by 20 feet, nine feet high with 
a 20-foot fly, dividing the house and fly with wire screen, making two compartments. I 
purchased six pairs of your Homers in September and six pairs more of you in February. To 
my surprise, three of these pairs started building their nests the day after their arrival, and, 
in fact, tiie 12 pairs went into the business of raising squabs and have been in the business 
ever since. I now have 100 pairs of the finest birds in the country; no question about that, as 
I have made it a point to visit quite a number of places to compare birds, and I am satisfied 
with my birds, ii they are with theirs. 

Last winter ± built another house of the same dimensions as given above, building at the lower 
end of the original fly. I took the wire screen from the end of the fly, and with it divided the 
fly into four parts, thus saving the expense of building a fly for the new house, and the birds do 
just as well with a ten-foot as with a 20-foot fly, I imagine. The total cost of the two nouses 
and birds was about $175. 

It is my intention to sell squabs this winter (1907-1908) while prices are high, keeping the 
squabs hatched during the summer months for breeders, and saving the squabs from my best 
record birds as breeders, as I believe I will get even better results from them. 

In my opinion the squab business is similar to other business enterprises, requiring patience 
and hard work at the start, and if a man is a " quitter " he will make no more money in the 
squab business than in any other line. 

I started in the business for the reason that I think there is good money in it. My " feathered 
race horses " look good to me, and I am placing my money so that they come under the wire 
winners. 

My advice to one starting in the squab business is to secure your birds and your Manual and 
then they will have started right. Will try and send vou a picture of my place in the near 
uture. — F. B., New York. 



MAKES HIS HOBBY PAY WITH TEN- 
POUND SQUABS. My success with your 
birds is the result of following the instructions 
in your Manual. When I enter my squab- 
house, I always whistle so as not to frighten 
them too suddenly, and do not often take 
strangers into the loft. Am not troubled with 
lice. I disinfect about every two weeks. 

My squabs will weigh one pound apiece, or 
from 10 to 12 pounds to the dozen. Of 
course, I do not ever expect to be an extensive 
breeder, as I have not the room, but I can 
accommodate about 75 pairs and make a 
little money on the side, and enjoy taking 
care of them. Pigeon keeping was always 
my hobby ever since I was ten years old. I 
will say a good word for you and your birds at 
any time. — D. E. A., Illinois. 

SMALL ORDER JUSTIFIES A LARGER 
ONE. The 13 pairs birds that you shipped 
to me in May have done so well that I feel 
justified in ordering four dozen more of your 
Extra Homers and 17 1-3 dozen nestbowls for 
which I enclose check. Your birds have 
been here nine weeks last Saturday and I 
now have twenty-five squabs, one having 
died.— F. M. J., New York. 

INTEREST SHOWN IN WELFARE OF 
CUSTOMERS. I am very much obliged for 
the information given me. Once again, I 
cannot too highly praise you for your prompt- 
ness and interest shown in the welfare of your 
customers. I intend ordering some more 
birds from you and would like to know the 
best time to get them. — M. A. C, New York. 



BETTER THAN ANY OTHER ST. LOUIS 
FLOCKS. I take this means to show you 
that I appreciate a fair, square deal such as 
you gave me. The birds are as you advertised 
them and are far superior in some respects 
to what you advertised. They are perfect 
pets and to my surprise they began building 
nests the second day after their arrival. 

They are far superior to any flocks which I 
have seen in St. Louis and as soon as I can find 
a suitable site, will erect some modern build- 
ings according to your Manual and stock it 
with your birds. It will take several months 
to carry out my plans. — W. E. P., Missouri. 

FOURTEEN-FOLD INCREASE IN ONE 
YEAR IN NEBRASKA. About a year ago 
my father, who lives in Crete, Nebraska, 
purchased ten pairs Extra Plymouth Rock 
pigeons from you. They have increased to 
over twelve dozen pairs. I wish to get the 
whole flock if it is practical to ship them here, 
so I am writing to you for advice on the 
subiect Can you furnish shipping crates? — 
C. B., Vermont. 

HAS KEPT PIGEONS BEFORE AND 
KNOWS A GOOD LOT. The pigeons you 
shipped me arrived all right on Friday morn- 
ing. I notice the pairs were broken up 
(from the separation, I suppose) for four days, 
but they are now mating again. As I have 
kept pigeons before, I know a little about 
them. This is a good lot of pigeons and I 
thank you for vou promptness in shipping. — 
J. R. S., Maryland. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

191 



TaUpKone Call, 8261 Ccrtlaitdt. 

COMMISSION MERCHANTS. 

Frltits, Ppadtice and Fetdtpjj, 

^otttlteru Vegetables a. J&peciallg. 
273 & 275 Washington Street. 

^/l£t**^JK**£, December 4, /£0 9 

Mr. jaraer C. Rice, 

Plymouth Rock Squab Co., 
Boston, Mass. 

Dear Sir, 

We wish to advise you on prices and general run of 
equals which a goodly number of breeders of your fancy Homer pigeons are 
■shipping ua. They are now selling from between $3.75 to |4.50 per dozen 
and, in all probability will go higher, as the winter advances. There is 
a good demand for this kind of birds and we are receiving quite a deal 
of them. We can handle anywhere from one thousand to two thousand dozen 
a week as bur trade constantly inquires for them. We can assure you that 
the bree.d of birds we get from our shippers are very fine and we notice 
a large majority of these same shippers mention your -name. 

The market at present wants cquabs weighing between 
9 and 11 lbs. to the dozen, and we would advise any beginner to use 
nothing but your best breed of birds, as they are the cheapest in the 
$nd to him. 

We thank you for your kind consideration and 
past favors. We are 

Very truly youre, 



192 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



HOW TO PRESERVE. COLLECT, BAG AND SELL THE MANURE. HOW TO USE 
TOBACCO DUSf FOR BOTH PIGEONS AND POULTRY. I have several hundred Homer 
pigeon? raised entirely from stock purcnased of you a little more than three years ago. 1 wish 
to write you to obtain information in regard to selling the manure. I have your National 
Standard Squab Book in which you say you ship to tne tannery and obtain 60 cents a bushel. 
I would like to know how you ship it. In bags or barrels? The manure has always been used 
on our farm, but I have recently been deprived of my husband and need the money very muM, 
and as I cannot do the farming that he has done, feel obliged to sell the manure. It i: free 
from sand or sawdust. The most foreign substance will be feathers and some little n^E.ing 
material that they have scattered around, as of course I should not try to sell the old nests 
that would be nearly all nesting material. The packing will have to be done by my daughter 
and myself. I have been told that it is bought by the bushel, but it would be a hard task to 
measure it all, as I am considerably over 60 years of age and very lame. I find the freight 
will be 21 cents per 100 from here and if I ship by weight it will be easier to measure it all 
by the bushel and they would have to take the freight agent's figures instead of my measure. 
I have quite a quantity. Have measured up one bushel and found the weight 36 pounds, 
which at that rate would take only three bushels to weigh a little more than 100 pounds and 
I think I have 30 bushels or more. — Mrs. M. W., Rhode Island. 

Answer. Feathers and common nesting material in the manure will not hurt it any in the 
estimation of the tanners, but they like it free from gravel and from tobacco stems. The 
stems will discolor the hides in the vats. The manure varies in weight according to the amount 
of moisture in it. It should be dried and then bagged, two bushels to a bag. Buy a bushel 
measure and use it. Always ship in bags and get the bags back empty. They are worth at 
least five cents apiece even if second hand, as burlap has gone up. 

Squab raisers who use tobacco stems for nesting material cannot sell the manure to tanneries. 

T.ie only reason for using tobacco stems is to ward off possible lice. The same result may 
be attained when straw or pine needles are used by dusting the nests now and then with tobacco 
dust. We sell tobacco dust for 11 cents a pound. It is equally good for poultry and is better 
than many fancy lice powders selling for two or three times that price. We will supply 25 
pounds of tobacco powder for $2. In smaller quantities 11 cents a pound. The use of this 
powder will not injure the manure for tanneries. 



SOME AGREEABLE DISAPPOINTMENTS 

I have not written you since receipt of 
birds, consequently will send you a word at 
this time. My first agreeable disappointment 
was the promptness with which you filled my 
order. I live 500 miles from Boston. I 
mailed my order for the pigeons at eight 
o'clock Wednesday morning and at five 
o'clock Friday evening the birds were waiting 
for me at the express office, just about 53 
hours from the time I mailed my order until 
shipment was received. I had not expected 
to receive the shipment before eight days. 
The birds reached me in first-class condition — ■ 
except for a few broken tail feathers you would 
have thought they had never been out of their 
native loft. They lost very little time in 
getting climated, for three days after turning 
them loose they were nesting and soon all 
were hatching. 

In comparison with other Homers I have 
seen, everything is in favor of the Plymouth 
Rock breed. They are cleaner, better pro- 
portioned and less shy than any others I have 
seen. The squabs from these birds are 
everything an epicure couid desire, big, fleshy 
and meat the whitest. I have only words of 
commendation for the stock of breeders you 
handle. I can only wish you increased sales 
of your excellent money makers. You are at 
liberty to use this letter to interest prospective 
customers or my name as a reference. — P. F., 
Pennsylvania. 



TEN PAIRS OUT OF THIRTEEN SPLEN- 
DID PAIRS QUICKLY AT WORK. Our 

cheese maker at Aldenville, Penn., ordered 
thirteen pairs of Homers from you. We have 
encouraged his going into the business for the 
reason that several months of the year they 
are not busy at the trade and could just as 
well care for a nice flock of Homers. 

The thirteen pairs received from you a few 
weeks ago are splendid specimens and ten pairs 
are at work at present. Not being contented, 
we wanted to mix the blood and ordered thir- 
teen pairs from an imitation squab company. 
The birds came yesterday and we are so badly 
disappointed in them that we would like yery 
much to return them, and not mix with our 
hi^h-class birds received from you. We want 
eventually to put in a few hundred pairs of 
the party and will want from twenty to 
twenty-five pairs of your selected birds in a 
few weeks time. What will be the price and 
can you give us a fine lot?— G. S., Penn- 
sylvania. 

RAPID BREEDING IN MICHIGAN. I pur- 
chased of you last year three pairs Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers and at this writing I 
have had them just one year and seven days 
and instead of having three pairs I now have 
24 pairs that can fly besides a dozen squabs 
and as many eggs. What do you think about 
that? As I am in need of nestbowls, please 
send me three dozen of your wood fibre nest 
bowls/ — P. E. F., Michigan. 



LETTERS RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

193 




194 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



HIS FRIEND PURCHASED 12 PAIRS OF US THREE YEARS AGO, IS NOW SHIPPING 
SQUABS FROM 300 PAIRS AND CLEARED $1000 LAST YEAR, A HIRED MAN DOING THE 
WORK. You Lave been recommended to me by a friend who three years ago purchased 12 
pairs of Homers from you and he has to-day 300 pairs and cleared $1000 last year without any 
labor on his part. He simply instructed a common laborer. 

I am very much interested in squab raising. I am now attending the Iowa State College of 
Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. I live in Chicago and it seems to me that would be a good 
market. The first six months I intend to raise for breeding purposes, and then if I succeed 
can put $200 or $300 more in squab raising. Do you consider this plan practical as I have 
outlined it? — G. C, Iowa. 

Answer. Remarkable successes are being made by customers of ours who started with 12 
pairs to 50 pairs and raised up their own birds. It is not wise, however, to start with less than 
12 pairs of birds, unless your stock of patience is large and you can stand waiting for two or 
three years before getting returns for your money. The trouble with beginners who have 
failed is that they have tried to do too much too fast. 



RATS AND DIARRHOEA. As I am sure 
you are very good authority on the pigeon 
question, being first in the business and 
revolutionizing it, I hope you will not count it 
amiss or intruding for me to appeal to you (to 
use court language) for help and advice. We 
have lots of mice in our pigeon house. What 
could one use or do to kill or frighten them 
away with perfect safety? The second 
troublesome thing is what I call the shivers. 
The pigeons get to shaking violently and seem 
to lose nearly all interest in everything. 

Your birds beat anything we have from else- 
where at most every " turn," I might say. 
Indeed, some we have from another near by 
who gave us a written guarantee " for health, 
good workers, he vy squabs, no canker and 
all mated bL"ds," proved in nearly every 
instance a sham, for they were not even mated 
except a few pairs, out of a hundred pairs, and 
died right along, and they were not mated for 
over a year after they came. 

Yours are tame also, they will eat out of our 
hands. I think those broad-shouldered, 
thick-legged blue (with black broad bars over 
wings) are very good ones, We raised some 
nice breeders from them. A friend of ours at 
Marlton, New Jersey, spoke of getting nice 
birds of you. I have made interesting visits 
among the pigeon keepers in New Jersey. — 
Miss M. H. B., Pennsylvania. 

Answer. Rats and mice, as we have ex- 
plained so many times, must be kept out by 
elevating the building. If it is impossible to 
do this, take one-inch mesh wire netting and 
bury it completely in the dirt floor, six inches 
deep. At the sides and corners bring it up 
above the sills of the building and fasten it 
with staples. This will give you a wire-net- 
ting carpet for your squab house (buried six 
inches under the ground), and through this 
barrier it is impossible for rats or mice to get. 
It is a hard task to exterminate them by 
poison or traps after they have once got in to 
an improperly-arranged place, _ and if you 
succeed they are bound to come again. Do it 
right bv elevating your building or burying 
wire netting and that will end the bother. 

What this customer calls the shivers is 
diarrhoea caused by feeding too much wheat. 



TWO PAIRS ONLY. I am going into the 
squab industry in a very small way to raise 
a few birds for our own use and find a pleasur- 
able occupation as an aside. I shall later 
want a few pairs of your birds. I bought 
some time ago ten pairs of another company, 
but so far am sure of only two pairs in the lot 
and they have given me no little trouble. — 
Rev. G. B. L., Vermont. 

NINE AND ONE-HALF POUNDS TO THE 
DOZEN AND SOLD FOR FOUR DOLLARS. 

Will you kindly inform me to whom to write 
about disposing of pigeon droppings. I made 
the first sale of squabs last week. They 
weighed nine and one-half pounds to the 
dozen, plucked, bled, empty crops. I received 
four dollars for them. How is that ? — F. H. S., 
Ohio. 

GENERAL VERDICT. Please send me 
addresses of New York squab dealers. I 
received the three pairs of Extra Plymouths; 
all were in fine condition. My friends all say 
tbey never saw a nicer lot of Homers. I also 
thank you for the prompt shipment. I 
expect to send for another lot in about a 
month. — J. B. S., Pennsylvania. 

SQUABS TWO WEEKS OLD WEIGHING 
THREK-QUAKiERS OF A POUND IN 

COLORADO. Birds ordered of you some 
days ago reached me in precty fair shape, 
with the exception of one male dead. Thank 
you for your splendid treatment to my order. 
Squabs from the first lot at two weeks 
weighed three-quarters of a pound. How is 
that? Will return baskets in a few days. — ■ 
J. F. B., Colorado. 

BEST BOOK ON BIRDS HE EVER READ. 

I received your Manual and find it just 
what you say. It is the best book on birds I 
ever read. I have a large plant of common 
pigeons but since I read your book I have 
built one of the prettiest pigeon houses and 
flying pens in which to put the pigeons I am 
ordering of you to-day. If your birds are 
as fine as you say I will get rid of all my 
common pigeons. — C. E. G., North Carolina. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

195 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




A GOOD-LOOKING ILLINOIS PLANT. 
These are two of the buildings of the breeder whose letter is printed on this page. 
Homers. 



Notice his handsome white 



LOST MONEY BY NOT KNOWING PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. NOW HE IS ON THE 
RIGHT TRACK. HE IS A TRAVELING SALESMAN AND HIS DAUGHTER DOES MOST 
OF THE WORK ON Tills H1G PLANT. SQUABS WEIGH il POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. 

I have just completed my new squab unit according to your plans. Please find enclosed 
Adams Express money order for birds to fill same. 

Other parties have been working on me for this order and I told them I would buy nothing 
but Extra Plymouth Rocks. (A burnt child dreads the fire.) I lost enough by experimenting 
with cheap birds when I began. Since I began buying of you I have had no trouble. The last 
three shipments I received from you cannot be beat for size, beauty and breeding qualities. 
About one-third of all the squabs I have sold in the past 12 months have averaged a little over 

II pounds to the dozen. We have quite a lot of squabs that weighed a full sixteen ounces each, 
Now, Mr. Rice, as long as you continue to ship me in the future as fine stock as you have in 

the past, I am with you and the Plymouth Rock Co., and " the other fellow " might just as 
well save his postage stamps and breath. 

I have not lost a single old bird by death or disease in 14 months. We had three or four 
squabs picked badly. I found by taking the squabs away at three weeks of age and placing 
them in a small feeding pen and feeding hempseed for a week that they fatten awfully fast. 
What is your idea about that? 

I hope you will excuse this long letter. Every time I think about my experience at the start 
with all kinds of mixed up birds, I have " brain storms " and you can rest assured my talk 
over the country will be for nothing but Plymouth Rock birds. As you know I am a traveling 
man and ought to be a good talker. Consequently in order to repay you for favors in the 
past I often tell my experiences and how I lost money by not knowing Elmer Rice. 

My oldest daughter does all our feeding and taking care of our birds and she is getting to 
be an expert pigeon keeper and delights in the pastime. We are figuring on increasing our 
flocks just as fast as we can until we get 2000 pairs. — S. S. H., Illinois. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 



196 



1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 

POOR WHEAT SET HIM BACK. HE SELLS ALL HE RAISES, THE SQUABS BEING 
ENGAGED BY CUSTOMERS EVEN WHILE THEY ARE ON THE NEST. I write to you tor 

information concerning my flock of birds. I got my stock from you in 1904, and have been 
building up my flock. I got along finely with them until tne latter part of last summer when I 
had tae bad luck to lose about 20 or 25 of the old birds, which broke the mated pairs up. I 
would like to increase my flock to t.ie full capacity of tne house built from your unit plan, 12 
by 16. I lay the loss of my birds to some poor wheat I got from the mill here that must have 
contained a good deal of ergot that caused t.ie females to die. I wrote to Mr. Rice at the time 
and he told me it was the wneat, at least I have had no more trouble since I commenced 
feeding first quality grain. The squabs weigh 12 to 14 pounds a dozen. 

I herewith send an order for 12 females to balance my flock. 

My original purchase of you in 1904 was six pairs Extra Plymouth Rocks. The birds arrived 
all safe and in good condition and attracted a good deal of attention at the time, for some of 
my friends put on a broad smile and have been expecting me to bust up in the pigeon business, 
but have been at it now for over two years and the order accompanying this don't look much 
like it for I can sell all the squabs I can raise. They are even engaged before they are fit to 
take off the nest. I get 50 cents a pair just killed, and if I dress them ready for the oven I get 
75 cents a pair in the local market. My squabs will weigh 12 or 14 pounds per dozen, and 
think it is on account of the way I am handling and feeding, for I find you cannot make meat 
unless you feed for it. 

I make my own grit of glass and it has b^en very satisfactory. I keep a counle of bricks 
of salt cat in the house, also a codfish occasionally, and t.-iey are doing fine now, if I did have 
some bad luck, but then one must expect drawbacks in any kind of business. — A. D. D., 
Pennsylvania. 

Note. Yo,i will never have sickness of any kind with pigeons if you provide soun^ grain 
and clean water. If your grain dealer needs watching, and Las nit your interests at heart, 
examine especially the wheat and corn, tasting both. Some grain dealers will take whole corn 
which has germinated and make cracked corn of it. You can always tell sour grain by smell, 
taste and sight. 

It is quite true, as this customer f tates, that feed is a factor in the weight of the squabs. Too 
much wheat keeps the old birds thin, and the squabs dark and thin. Plenty of com and 
peas makes the squabs fat. 

DISPOSING OF THE SQUABS IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHEN THEY REACH THE AGE 
OF 23 DAYS. RECEIVING THREE DOLLARS A DOZEN. Our order for 17 pairs of Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers was placed with you early in March (1907) and the birds arrived and 
were placed in our pen about the 20th. They were all in good shape, having stood the trans- 
portation well, and made themselves entirely at home in their new quarters. The day follow- 
ing their arrival one of the hens laid, and from that time until now (June 24) the flock, as a 
whole, has worked splendidly, and results have far exceeded our expectations. At the present 
time 15 of the 17 pairs are at work, having either eggs or young squabs. We believe that 
every pair would have been at work, but two of our hens escaped, and we had to order two 
more to replace these, and this accident upset our flock considerably. 

We find that the squabs will wtigh from three-quarters to seven-eighths of a pound when they 
are three weeks and two or three days old, and we have been disposing of them at that age. 
No doubt, this fast growing is due to the equable climate which we have in South Carolina. 
We have no trouble in disposing of all our birds at that age at 25 cents apiece. 

The pigeons do not require much of our time, and w» are so thoroughly satisfied with our 
experience that we are considering ordering 20 more pairs in the next f ew days. — Mrs. C. B., 
South Carolina. 

SQUABS WEIGHING FOURTEEN TO RECEIVES $4.20 A DOZEN. My squabs 

SIXTEEN OUNCES. It is now July, 1907 from your birds weigh when dresse d nine 
six months since we purcha:°-i from you 44 , . .. , , T . , , 

pairs of your Extra Homers, fj-ven pairs met Pounds to the dozen and I receive at the rate 

with accidents, becauce they were disturbed of $4.20 per dozen for them. I have fed corn, 
several times on account of the plant not being . wheat, peas a '"d millet, buckwheat and bread, 

finished. The remaining 37 pairs are in I have l.ad su "cess by letting the squabs on 

every way satisfactory. We have at present the flo _ r -vhen they are four weeks old, that 

11 pairs on eggs and 21 squabs. On account is, wnen I am going to keep them for breeders, 

of not having too much room for the birds and They are not troubled by the other birds and 

also to answer the many demands of our sick, they feed themselves sooner and the old birds 

we are killing the squabs at three to four weeks get to work earlier. I have had no sickness or 

when we find them to weigh 14 to 16 ounces, lice. Your Manual is all right and is good for 

and at which time the mature birds are again the starter and experienced. — P. E. D., Dis- 

breeding. — S. E., Illinois. trict of Columbia. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECED7ED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

197 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




SHOWING CONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA. 
This building, part of the plant of a Florida customer, is built of only one thickness of lumber. Only the roof 
is shingled. No glass windows are needed. The climate of the South is exceptionally good for squab breeding. 

SUCCESSFUL FLORIDA SQUAB FARMER SAYS THE CLIMATE OF HIS STATE CANNOT 
BE BEAT. LIKES THE CARNEAUX. The Carneaux arrived here yesterday. I am much 
pleased with them. They show more white than the birds which my mother sent me from 
France and are larger. The more I see of the Carneaux, the more I like them, and wish I had 
nothing but them in my squab farm. I believe there is going to be a tremendous run on them 
as breeders. 

My Homers are mated and all hard at work. I was fool enough last spring of 1906 to band 
the mated birds of that season with colored bands, blue for cocks, red for hens. The bands 
I bought from , who guaranteed that tney would last a lifetime. I note at least one- 
third have broken and come off. I snail have to reband 300 pairs over again. No more colored 
bands for me. 

Enclosed find check, for which send as specified. You will be glad to hear that I am making 
a success of the squab business, and now have 700 mated pairs. As soon as the fall commences 
and the price of eight to nine pound squabs advances from its present low standing here, I am 
thinking of starting to ship to the New York markets. In this Southern climate our birds 
work better and faster, produce far better grade of squabs in the winter and spring months 
than in fie summer; while I understand with you the summer is your best time. I believe 
our Florida climate cannot be beat for squab farming. 

If I like and find out that the Carneau is all it is cracked up to be, 50 per cent of my Homers 
will be replaced gradually by them. — W. B. W., Florida. 



HEALTHY, RUGGED BIRDS. Enclosed 
please find draft for $11.52 for one gross of 
your nappies. The birds I got of you last 
spring are all right. I have not lost a one 
with sickness or any other cause. — A. M. J., 
Iowa. 



HIS FATHER IN IOWA LIKES THEM. 

My father at Des Moines, Iowa, is breeding 
your birds and likes them very much. Please 
send me present p*ice on 10 and 20 pairs 
Homers. I want the best that I can get 
regardless of cost. — C. H. D., Illinois. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

198 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



KNOWS BY EXPERIENCE THERE IS 
MONEY IN PIGEONS. MANUAL " AWFUL 
GOOD." I trust you will paidon my tardi- 
ness in answering your letter with reference 
to the new National Standard Squab Book. 
Of course I want this book. I do not send 
for these books through any idle curiosity. 
I have kept pigeons and I know there is money 
in them if they are properly looked after. I 
want to get back in the pigeon business after 
the first of the year, and intend to do so, and 
I want to start with the best birds I can get. 
I think the National Standard Squab Book 
very fine. It is " awful good." More 
pleasure and satisfaction than I can express. 
Don't know of any improvements you could 
make, unless you went ahead and said the 
same thing over again. I enclose 20 cents in 
stamps for your new 1907-1908 Manual. 
I also send by this mail, under separate 
cover, the old Manual. 

I intended to purchase some of your birds 
when I sent for your book, but conditions 
have been such that it has been impossible. 
Can't say exactly when, but will buy some of 
your birds soon. 

The main reason I haven't bought some of 
your birds is because I haven't had any 
place to keep them. I have kept pigeons all 
my life, know a great deal about their habits, 
and above all, I am very fond of them. How- 
ever, I had to dispose of all the birds I had 
about 18 months ago, and since that time 
I haven't had the room to keep them. _ I 
had to dispose of them on account of having 
to leave Atlanta. My lease on my present 
home runs out about January 10, 1908, at 
which time I expect to buy me a place with 
large premises, where I can keep pigeons, as 
I made a good deal of money on the.n during 
my school days, and believe I can do so now 
as a side line if nothing more. — M. R. L„ 
Georgia. 

PLEASED 'WITH YOUR BUSINESS 
METHODS AND BUYING STEADILY. I 
have never seen a more likely lot of pigeons, 

and as I have room enough for another 10 
pairs, I enclose P. O. order and I hope that 
before the next batch arrives I shall be ready 
for fifty more pairs. I _ am very much 
pleased with the manner in which the Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Co. does business. — 
R. W. J., Virginia. 

MAKING THEM PAY AS HE GOES ALONG. 

I now have seventy. One year ago last 
March I bought six pairs from you. I want 
a better start before I sell very many, but I 
make them pay for their feed. Your Manual 
is "the goods." — D. E., Illinois. 

HIS HOMERS LOOK LIKE PYGMIES 
ALONGSIDE PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. 
I have 60 Homers, but they look like pygmies 
alongside of your birds. — F. W. D. 



OUR HOMERS MORE THAN WE CLAIM 
FOR THEM. Your Homers are more than 
you claim for them. At least mine are. 

They are models of beauty and are very large. 
I was skeptical at first, but I am thoroughly 
convinced that the Homer is the only bird. 
Some of my Homers are as large as the white 
Italian birds that I purchased from you. 
The squabs are fine large fellows and I am 
sure that a nice flock of Homers beats a drove 
of chickens for meat, either for home or 
market use. I shall take pleasure in recom- 
mending your birds to my friends and 
prospective buyers. Please find enclosed 50 
cents for another Manual. — M. A., Kansas. 




HOMER HEN SITTING ON EGGS. 

PIGEONS CRAVE GREEN FOOD. I 

bought of you June 20, 1906, 24 pairs of your 
Homers. I have lost three birds, all of my 
raising, and now have 100 pairs (April, 1907). 
They all seem to crave something green to 
eat. What would you advise? Shall I feed 
them any green foods? I am giving them 
kaffir corn, a few peas, wheat and cracked 
corn. — F. M. P., Georgia. 

Answer. Yes, throw some lettuce or any 
green leaves on to the squab-house floor 
occasionally, say twice a week, and let them 
peck away at them to suit themselves. 

WISHES TO GET PIGEONS OF SUPERIOR 
QUALITY. You may hear from a gentleman. 
Mr John Fyle. Send him some of yorr 
literature, as I will always recommend your 
stock to all who expect to go into the squab 
business. This Mr. Fyle has pigeons, but of 
an inferior quality, and having been told 
about mine, wants some like I have. — R. S., 
Maryland. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

199 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




LIGHTED BY ELECTRICITY AND HEATED BY STEAM. 
This shows part of the up-to-date plant of the customer in New York State whose letter is printed on this 
page. The birds hanging in front of the brown paper are squabs just killed to get them into the picture. 



PAYING PLANT IN HANDSOME BUILD- 
INGS. I enclose photograph showing rny 
four units and office room. The building is 
made of matched lumber so that they are ab- 
solutely air-tight if so desired. It is eauipped 
with steam heat, electric light, hot and 
cold water and both telephone systems. _ In 
the office room the grain bins are zinc-lined 
and moisture proof. The top is upholstered 
so that when the lid is down the room has a 
very pleasant appearance. 

I have today broken ground for two more 
units, as my young birds are coming on so 
fast that I must make room for them. Be- 
sides supplying the Elmira market. I am sav- 
ing my most promising young ones in order 
to increase my flock. 

I have bought from you exclusivelybecause 
I liked your business methods and believe you 
are fair and square. Your birds are good 
breeders and throw heavy, white-skinned 
squabs. Business is good and as fast as I 
make money I enlarge my plant. — L. S. W., 
New York. 

SOME AT WORK AFTER LONG JOUR- 
NEY. The pigeons (dozen pairs) arrived, 
August 12, in good condition with the excep- 
tion that two of them had each one wing hurt. 
I have waited to see how badly they were 
hurt before writing, but think they will pull 
through all right for one of them has taken a 
mate ind is building on the floor of the pigeon 
house. Five pairs of them are building and 
three pairs are driving, while several others 
are paired off. — B. V., State of Washington. 



FINEST BIRDS PERFECTLY MATED. 
CHANGED HIS HOUSES. I want to tell you 
about my birds. I received them the Satur- 
day of the week you shipped them, turned 
them out on Monday and they went right to 
building. I have got three setting and I see 
the others are starting to build. They went 
right to work without any trouble. They go 
into the house every night just as if they were 
raised there. They are the finest birds I ever 
saw. I have just finished another large 
pigeon house and flying pen and I have put 
my white ones into it. Since I read your 
Manual I have changed most all my pigeon 
houses. I find they are so much better than 
mine. If any one is going into the pigeon 
business I would advise them to get one of 
your books on birds. I am sorry I did not get 
one long ago. Just as soon as I can get rid of 
my common pigeons I want to replace them 
with yours. I have got to build another 
pigeon house and it will be about October 
before I get through with it, and I shall need 
nestbowls and other supplies. — C. E. G., 
North Carolina. 

SMALL ORDER FOLLOWED BY LARGER. 

Enclosed you will find an express money 
order, for which please ship me the following: 
12 pairs Extra Homers, one dozen wood-fibre 
bowls, 25 pounds hempseed, 100 pounds 
Canada peas. Please ship as soon as possible. 
The three pairs of Extra Homers you sent 
Tuesday reached here Thursday in fine 
condition. Thank you for your prompt 
shipment. — G. J. A., New Jersey. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

200 



1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 

NEW JERSEY WOMAN RECEIVES $4.00 TO $7.00 A DOZEN FOR SQUABS FROM 
PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. From the six pairs of birds I bought from you in 1905 
and the extra pair you kindly gave me I have raised 215 birds. My squabs average 11 pounds 
to the dozen, sometimes more. The birds work all the time. They breed on the average of 
nine pairs every year. 

I have never had to give them a drop of medicine since I have had them as they keep in 
perfect health. 

I have lost about five pairs of squabs from the rats getting them, but never any from sickness. 

I have built my coops after yonr suggestions in your book, The National Standard Squab 
Book, and am not troubled any more from rats. I have never seen any birds to compare with 
mine in size. I have seen hundreds of pigeons but every one praises mine up and remarks how 
Large, full and broad they are across the breast. 

So far I have been selling my squabs here in town. They bring from $4.00 to $7.00 per 
dozen, according to the time of year. This price I get for them right out of the nest without 
killing or picking. 

I feed kaffir corn, cracked corn and wheat every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday 
and Saturday I give them hemp seed and Canada peas (on trays) as much as they will eat. 
They have fresh water twice a day in summer and once in winter and once every week I scaM 
out their drinking fountains with hot water to keep them sweet and clean. 

I have one box of grit and one of oyster shells in the coop all the time and instead of putting 
it on the yard floor I put it in boxes. I also have a lump of rock salt and a salt-cat in each 
coop made as direited in your Manual. Once a week I clean their coops and take the white- 
wash pail in with me and whitewash the boxes out and sprinkle slaked lime on the floors of the 
coops and the yards. 

Your book has been a great help to me, and I have read it over many times and try to follow 
its directions in every particular. 

I am thoroughly satisfied with my birds and feel I have had great success with them and 
would not have any other breed or kind were they to be given to me free. I am now ordering 
30 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, same as I got before in 1905, making $75.00 worth, at 
the rate of $2.50 per pair. I enclose check for same, $75.00. — Mrs. S. V. F., New Jersey. 

QUICK START BY A 700-PAIR FLOCK. In January and February, 1907, a customer in the 
Mississippi valley bought 700 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. On arrival of the birds he 
wrote: " They are as fine a lot of thoroughbreds as I ever saw. You deserve the success you 
enjoy for your business methods." 

The last consignment left us February 4 and reached him February 8. Nineteen days later he 
wrote us : "Our birds are doing very well. Have 400 pairs of eggs and squabs in the house, and 
probably 50 pairs driving. If the market will take all of our supply next month, we will put up 
another house at once and buy the birds of you, for you have always been fair and just with me." 

On March 5 he wrote: " Our squab house is a mass of squabs and eggs. The birds were at 
work within three days after placing them in their rooms, which shows that the wood fibre bowls 
and surroundings suited them, and that they were properly mated. The special lot of 50 pairs is 
the most remarkable pen we have ever seen. In 30 days after their arrival, there were 40 pairs on 
eggs. We feel it our duty to compliment you on your fair, honorable and just dealings with us." 

SIX DOLLARS A DOZEN IN CANADA FOR SQUABS WEIGHING NEARLY ONE POUND 
EACH. About two years ago I purchased from you 15 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers. They have given excellent satisfaction in every way. All the squabs raised in two 
summers weighed 10-12 pounds to the dozen and at all times I was able to get $6.00 per dozen 
for them, indeed, I could not nearly supply the demand. I had offers to supply one of the 
largest hotels in Canada if I had enough stock. 

I think I am as enthusiastic a squab raiser as can be found. I have always kept fancy 
pigeons for pleasure, but never until I raised these from you have I raised squabs to sell. — A. M., 
Canada. 

INCREASE TWENTY-ONE FOLD IN TWO YEARS IN OKLAHOMA. Would you please 
inform me where to ship the pigeon manure to a tannery? We have 200 pairs and we have 
burned 15 bushels this year. As I heard that you shipped the manure, I thought that I would 
write to you for my information. We are thinking of getting some more pigeons from you. 
Two years ago the 15th of February we got 11 pairs from your Company and now we have 231 
pairs from those 11 pairs. — C. O. L., Oklahoma. 

BIG FLOCK IN KANSAS BRED FROM SMALL BEGINNING. Some two years ago I pur- 
chased from you 38 Homer pigeons. I now have a pen of 500 of the nicest birds in this locality. 
I am expecting to build larger pens and divide the bunch, arid I wish to get all the printed 
matter I can on the subject of squab breeding, also all the information you can give me by 
letter regarding the mating of birds, even if I have to pay a reasonable fee. Please let me hear 
from you by return mail and oblige. — G. G., Kansas. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECED7ED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

201 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




ON A POLE AT TOP OF FLYING PEN. 

INDIANA WOMAN WON FIRST PRIZE AT HER FAIR. QUICK INCREASE IN SMALL 
FLOCK. HOW SHE FEEDS THEM AND CARES FOR THEM. In the spring of 1907 I bought 
15 pairs of your Plymoutn Rock Homers. In March they started to build their nests. At 
present (October) I have 82 young squabs with eight pairs on eggs. When the squabs are four 
weeks old they weigh 14 to 16 ounces apiece. They are very rich eating. One pair of birds 
raised me from six to seven pairs of young squabs (in less than eight months). When the 
squabs are two weeks old I clean their nestbowls out twice a week. Twice a week I sprinkle 
slaked lime around. I use tobacco stems. Also every day I give my coop a good cleaning. 
I have no kind of lice. I sprinkle a little slaked lime on the floor. I have a good many 
visitors. They say, hew can you keep it so clean? Mr. Kline, Mr. Martin and several others 
were here to look at my birds. They thought they were fine. Some of my young birds are 
larger than some of the old birds. Some of the young birds have raised some young squabs 
for the second time, of which the first eggs were no good. I feed my birds in the morning. I 
give cracked corn, wheat, kaffir corn, buckwheat and barley, all mixed together and feed 
fresh water, plenty of it. Also their morning bath. This is their morning feed. At noon 
they get lettuce or cabbage leaves or Swiss chard. They are very fond of dry bread or cake. 
In the evening I feed the same as the morning feed except I scald a little oats; when cold, I mix 
it with the other feed. I put a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in their drinking water once a 
month I am feeding sunflower seed once a week. When my young birds are six weeks old 
I pull their tail feathers out. I find out they do better. It seems to help them to shed their 
feathers quicker. I band my birds when four weeks old and place them in another coop. My 
coop is 16 feet long, 12 feet high, 10 feet wide, with a double floor with tar paper between, also 
it is lined with tar paper and has three large windows in it. I have 132 nest boxes. They 
are 12 inches square. I build them like you have them in your squab book. I would like to 
send you a picture of the squab house, but I planted lima beans and spun them up the wire. 
I will send you a picture later on. I got first prize at the fair. I have seen several kinds of 
pigeons but they don't compare with mine in size and weight. 

We eat squabs about every Sunday. I make pot pie, also I have soup. I make what you 
might call noodle soup. They are the best stuffed with dressing made with one egg, one onion 
cut fine, little parsley, pinch of salt and pepper, a little grated nutmeg, the hearts and gizzards 
of the birds and bread broken in small pieces, water enough to moisten. This is enough for 
three birds to dress. — Mrs. S. B., Indiana. 

NO AILING PIGEONS. Well, it has been 
some time since I received the 13 pairs 
pigeons from yoti and I will say I am quite 
well satisfied with them. They are all work- 
ing but two pair and I have quite a bunch of 
good healthy young ones in my rearing pen 
and think I would have had more if I had 
given them more time and care, but I have 
too much other work. 

I keep the house clean and have it white- 
washed, and don't believe I have an ailing 
pigeon in the loft. I think I have some lice 
but they are not bad. I spray my lofts once 
or twice a week, being careful to choose a 
bright, warm day. — C. R., Illinois. 

VERY FINE FLOCK. I purchased some 
of your Plymouth Rock Homers a few years 
ago. I have a very fine flock of birds now. — ■ 
J. M. W., Pennsylvania. 



MOVED HIS FLOCK, BUYING MORE. 

About a year ago, I purchased 12 pairs of 
Homer pigeons from you. At that time I 
was located at Lowder, 111. About February 
15 this year (1907) I moved them from 
Lowder to Waverly, which is about eight 
miles. I now have 34 pairs. Will be in the 
market for more birds at once. Also_ quote 
me prices on supplies. — G. C. H., Illinois. 

ONE-POUND SQUABS. NEVER LESS 
THAN $3 AND AS HIGH AS $4.50 A DOZEN 
OBTAINED IN SOUTH DAKOTA. In Sep- 
tember, 1905, I bought some Homer pigeons 
from you. Most all squabs that I have 
raised from yout Extra Homers weigh one 
pound at five weeks old and I have got as high 
as $4.50 per dozen for them, never less than 
$3 per dozen. You mav use this information 
as it is correct. — J. H. K., South Dakota. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 



202 



1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 

FIRST PRIZE ON ONE PAIR, FIRST PRIZE ON COOP OF FOUR PAIRS, COMPETITION 
LIVELY AMONG SEVERAL HUNDRED BIRDS. I promised to write you about tne birds 
when trie Fair was over. I will do so now. (September, 1907.) I took first money on one 
pair, the speckled wing birds, and first prize ribbon on coop of four pairs. Three of the pairs 
I secured from you and one pair from my pen. The judge said tnat the hen bird was fine, but 
cock not so good. Of course I did not have time to trim them or fix them up for the occasion. 
I had to go up against several pigeon fanciers but came out with flying colors all the same. We 
had several hundred birds of different kinds at the Fair. I informed several where those birds 
came from and how long I had them. Hoping this will be as satisfactory to you as it is to me. — 
A. C. M., Maryland. 

TOOK ONE PAIR TO EXHIBITION, WON FIRST PRIZE, WAS OFFERED FIVE DOLLARS 
FOR THEM, TURNED DOWN OFFER. It has been a long time since you have heard from 
me. In the first place, I must let you know that my birds are getting along very nicely. 1 
am very well pleased. I have 15 pairs of old birds and 75 young birds. I took one pair to the 
County Fair. They were red checkers. I received first prize. I was offered $5 for the pair 
of birds. I told that man that I would not sell my birds and that if he. wanted any birds I 
would give him your address so he could buy some. — Mrs. B. A., Indiana. 

BEST PAIR OF HOMERS IN THIS ALABAMA COUNTY EXHIBITION. ORDERS MORE 
BIRDS. Your favor of October 19, 1907, was duly received. In answer to your query about 
our winning the prize on our Homers at the County Fair, we will state your information is 
correct. We won the prize for the best pair of Homers with a pair of blacks we got from you. 

We expect to make a better display at the next Annual Fair and if we see that we have a 
lot of prize winners we will probably enter them at the State Fair at Birmingham. We hope 
you will assist us in our efforts by sending us extra good birds in our next order. — C. O., Alabama. 

TOOK 18 TO THE CENTRAL MAINE FAIR AND WON 11 PREMIUMS. I have over 100 
pigeons on hand. I purchased three pairs of you at $2.50 per pair and bought two pairs of C. E. 
Melvin at $2 a pair, and this is the product of the two kinds. I took 18 of them to the Central 
Maine Fair at Waterville the past week (September, 1907) and got 11 premiums on the 18 
birds. The others are all about the same, good, healthy birds. — S. A. P., Maine. 

FIRST AND SECOND PREMIUMS AND SPECIAL COMMENDATION AT THIS ILLINOIS 
POULiRY SHOW. The pigeons you sent me obtained the first and second premiums at the 
poultry show with special commendation. I was informed the judges stated that one pair in 
particular would be very hard to beat anywhere. I thoroughly demonstrated that " blood 
tells." — O. J., Illinois. 

ANOTHER WON FIRST PRIZE AT AN ILLINOIS COUNTY FAIR. I have some of your 
Homers bought. They are fine. They have won first prize at the County Fair. Send plans 
for pigeon houses. — T. H. W., Illinois. 

ONE CUSTOMER WON THE PRIZES AT BETTER BIRDS THAN ANY IN THE 

THE FAIR WITH OUR BIRDS AND HIS BIG POULTRY AND PIGEON SHOW IN 

NEIGHBOR WISHES TO GET SOMETHING MONTANA. WANTED SOMEBODY HE 

TO BEAT THAT. Enclosed you will find COULD RELY ON FOR THE GENUINE. I 

money order for which please send me three am very well pleased with the stock ] received 
pairs No. 1 Homers, one drinker and six to-day. They are the finest lot of pigeons I 
bowls. Colors, one pair blue checkers, one ever saw. I received your letter and direc- 
pair reds and one pair blacks. Please send tions this morning and tha pigeons this after- 
mated birds. Send some good birds because noon. Thank you for the prompt and careful 
I want to beat your customer Mr. N. in the selection you gave me. Many thanks for the 
poultry show here soon. He got the prize extra pair of pigeons. They seemed glad to 
at the Fair. I have some blue barred hens. get out of the box. They look fine for the 
Please send me all the circulars that you long trip and all perfectly well. I did not 
send out because I want to start in the expect to see such fine birds ior I did not 
business right. — B. R., Alabama. know how they would get through the snow 

blockade in the Dakotas. Although I have 

COW PEAS SUBSTITUTED FOR CANADA seen only one letter from your customers in 

PEAS. I enclose you what they call " cow Montana, I think that if I follow your direc- 

peas " here to ask you if they are what you tions closely, I can make a success of it 

call " Canada peas." _ The pigeons I got of There ought to be a good market here and in 

you are satisfactory in every respect. Will the big poultrv and oicreon show there were 

probably get more March 1. — D. H., Illinois. none could stand beside these. The " National 

Answer. Cow peas are not Canada peas Standard Squab Book " convinced me that I 

but they are fed largelv to pigeons and if they wanted somebodv I could rely upon for the 

are plentiful in your State, feed them. genuine. — M. G. S., Montana 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

203 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



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CHEAPEST POSSIBLE CONSTRUCTION. 

Single boarding, covered with roofing, no shingles. The long, shallow wood trough is for the birds to bathe in. 

The water enters from a faucet in the foreground. After the birds have bathed, the water is emptied by pulling 

a plug at the end. The trough is cleaned with a broom. The man who sends this photograph writes: I raised 

1650 young ones from March 1, 1907 to July 1, 1907 (four months) from 450 pairs of breeders in this building." 

MADE A TRIP SOUTH AS FAR AS VIRGINIA AND FOUND OUR BIRDS THE BEST ALL 
ALONG THE LINE. NONE OTHERS ANYWHERE NEAR THEIR EQUAL FOR SIZE AND 
QUALITY. I have sold lots of squabs this summer. I average about 800 a month. Besides 
that I have worked up a little side trade in selling mated birds, but only the very large ones, 
ouch as I raise myself. Such orders bring me S3 a pair. I can't raise them fast enough to 
supply my trade, but I guarantee to do what is right by them all. 

I can say the credit is yours for supplying me with the old birds, as you did, but I only wish 
I had sense enough to have held on to all I ever got from you. Mr. Rice, I claim to have raised 
the largest Homers that any man can raise. 

I visited a plant in Pennsylvania. While I was there I was also down to Philadelphia and 
Delaware as far as Virginia and I saw your fine birds all along as I went, but none others were 
anywhere near their equal as far as size and quality went. 

I. will take the largest Homers you have to-day and breed them in mj coops and raise the 
young ones myself, and the young birds will be larger than the old ones, but that is experience 
that does that. — L. Y., Connecticut. 

CANADA CUSTOMER FINDS PROFIT- 
ABLE OCCUPATION. About six months ago 
I purchased from you seven pairs of your 
Extra mated adult Plymouth Rock Homer 
pigeons. Have had very good success with 
them. Starting with seven pairs, J have 
now (June, 4, 1907) fifty-six hardy Homers. I 
also got a Manual from you and find it very 
helpful. On the whole, I think squab rais- 
ing is one of the most profitable industries 
pursued to-day. You can publish this letter 
if you wish. — J. M., B. C, Canada. 



WHY WE HAVE MADE A SUCCESS. I 

wish to thank you very much for the nice 
selection both in si?e and perfect marking. 
I readily see why it is you have made a success 
of Homer breeding. I have long since found 
a satisfied customer is by far the best advertis- 
ing medium in building a substantial business. 
I will give you my future orders. I hope to 
add frequently to my nice loft of birds. No 
off-color or inferior birds can exist in my 
pens. Wishing you success. — W. B. T., 
Texas. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

204 



1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 

CONNECTICUT "WOMAN'S BIRDS BREED BETTER THAN MANUAL STATES. SHE HAS 
SEEN ONLY ONE LOFT OF BIRDS AS GOOD AS HERS AND THAT MAN BOUGHT HIS 
STOCK OF US. I will give you a statement of the birds I received from you the 23d of April, 
1907. My birds do very much better than you state in your Manual. 

They arrived in perfect condition and are very large and beautiful, have always been perfectly 
healthy. There has never been only one that was sick and that was caused from moulting and 
raising birds too fast. I took her away until she had recovered and her mate cared for the 
young birds. These birds lay when their young are from 12 to 21 days old. 

Some of them are sitting on their fifth lot of eggs. They have hatched 48 young birds in 
four months and just three weeks, and expect more will hatch this week. Some of the young 
ones are beautiful. 

I have never had young birds remain in their nests over three weeks. 

One pair build on the floor and their birds leave their nest at 17 days old. These weigh at 
three weeks 14 ounces, others at ten days weigh one-half pound each, some at three weeks 
weigh one pound. 

I have some that are very delicate from which I shall use for flying. These birds do not 
weigh but 14 ounces at four weeks old. 

I have seen but one loft of birds as large and handsome as these birds, and those were owned 
by a Mr. Corn well of Milford. He bought his first birds of you and claims that they raise 11 
pairs of birds a year. One of my neighbors who was watching my birds said: " In all the birds 
I have ever seen these are the largest and most lovely." 

I have followed your advice in the care of them and would like to know if mine are doing 
as well as the average you hear from. If I am successful in flying the birds will let you knew. 
Enclosed you will find money order for 50 pounds of health grit. — Miss A. A. W., Connecticut. 

CHAIR SEATS USED FOR THE BOTTOMS OF NEST-BOXES, CHEAPER THAN LUMBER 
HOW TO CHOP UP STRAW FOR NESTING MATERIAL. I note you say use long boards 
for bottoms of nests and short pieces perpendicular. I reversed this before seeing your plans 
by standing up long boards 12 inches apart, toenailed to wall. These boards have three-quarter- 
inch by three-quarter-inch cleats for bottoms. I use 12-inch three-ply perforated seats. These 
seats are varnished, are light and strong, as your excellent bowls. They are slightly concave 
in center, just fitting the nestbowl, and the perforations do not extend beyond margin of bowl. 
I fasten bowls to them with stove bolts. I can remove nut in a moment and have bowl and 
base separate for cleaning, and they are cheaper than good lumber, which costs five to six 
cents a square foot. Seats 12 inches square can be bought for three cents each. They come 
10, 11 and 12 inches square. 

You suggest no easy way for chopping straw in proper length for nests. I have stumbled 
onto a cheap and easy plan for small fellows like me. Use a common ■ mitrebox and saw. 
Place, mitrebox on table near end and a receptacle beneath. One or two strokes w ;11 cut through 
a big handful of straws and as you move up for next cut, the short ends drop L. receptacle. 

I hope you do not consider all this didactic (or what not) for to tell the truth I have gotten 
more pleasure and information out of your Manual than I could have gathered with endless 
and expensive experimenting, and I want to help if I can in any small way. — P. O. L., New 
Jersey. 

HIS BATH-PANS ARE MOUNTED ON A PIPE AND HE EMPTIES ALL WITH ONE TURN 
OF A CRANK. FILLS ALL BY TURNING ONE VALVE. My self-feeder is just perfect. Two 
of the ranches^ about here are fitting up with it. I also have all my windows raised or lowered 
at the same time and with only one motion. One or as many as you like can be detached 
and remain closed. I can stand in my feed room and do the whole thing without taking a step. 

My bath-pans are all mounted on a one inch pipe running through the flymg pen. The 
crank is just outside the end of the pen. It locks when the pans are up for bathing. The 
water is turned on by a faucet outside the flying pens. Now to empty this, no going inside 
the pens, frightening the birds and swashing the dirty water onto your hands. You just 
unlock the crank, rock the pans to and fro two or three times, turn down your crank and 
every pan dumps its dirty water onto a drip board running outside the pen. Leave your pans 
down and no snow, ice, or droppings can get into them. 

My drinking fountains all work from the passageway. Not a particle of filth can get into 
thei a. 

N jw I have not written this in anv spirit of egotism. I consider it just common sense 
economy of my own construction. — J. W., New Jersey. 

THIS FLORIDA CUSTOMER BEGAN WITH TWELVE PAIRS OF OUR EXTRAS IN 1903. 

We now (September, 1907), have about 400 to 500 birds and during winter and spring have 
killed on an average of 25 squabs per week. To be accurate in this I cannot, as no account 
was kept, but must say the birds have proven very satisfactory indeed. Will give Mrs. B. your 
letter upon her return and she can answer it also. — J. C. W., Florida. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

205 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



SQUABS SHOULD NOT BE SOLD DRAWN 
THE COOK IS THE ONE WHO DRAWS 
THEM. The six pairs of Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers have increased to about 60 since 
last May 20, breeding right on all the time, 
just the same now (January, 1907), as last 
summer, all large youngsters, which weigh 
with feet off, head off, entrails removed. 
just over half a pound. Please let me know 
whether commission men weigh them that 
way, or if they leave the feet and head on ? — 
P. A. W., Pennsylvania. 

Answer. Squab dealers always weigh them 
with the head and feet on and undrawn. 
Never draw your squabs before selling them. 
They will not keep so well in the markets, 
and the marketmen do not take them that 
wav. T'le heads, feet and insides are 
removed by the cook. 




THE START. 
In this barn, the customer whose picture is printed 
on this page made his start. It is still in use but the 
greater part of his breeding is done in a long multiple 
unit house nearby. 

AFTER ONE YEAR'S SUCCESSFOL 
TRIAL HE BUILDS A HOUSE FOR THBEE 
HUNDRED PAIRS. The pigeons I got of 
you a little over a year ago have been doin* 
finely. Am now (April, 1907) building a 
house to accommodate three hundred pairs. 
Enclosed find check for $23.04 for which 
please send me two gross of the fibre nest- 
bowls. I will have a picture of my new 
house taken a little later on and send to you. 
I could not give you any definite figures as 
to what your birds have dor.e for me, as I 
had some other birds in with them. How- 
ever, the ones got of you are tht best and 
largest. One pair especially has raised a pair 
of squabs almost every month. I expect to 
put some of your birds to themselves as soon 
as my new house is ready, and may be able 
to give you figures on them later on. — H. B., 
Indiana. 



GRAIN AND SUPPLIES TO THE GULF 
STATES BY STEAMSHIP. Please quote me 
price on 200 pounds of mixed feed but with- 
out chops. I cannot _ get wheat or hemp 
seed, and I find my birds do better on your 
mixed feed. The birds I ordered from you 
some time ago are doing finely. I am very 
much pleased with them. — B. E., Mississippi. 

Note. We ship a great deal of grain and 
Other supplies to customers living in Gulf 
States by boat from New York to Mobile, 
New Orleans, Galveston and other ports, a 
quick and cheap route, much faster than rail, 
and more satisfactory. The shipments get 
less handling. 




THIS CUSTOMER 
Started with a dozen pairs of our birds and has run 
them up to 800 pairs, paying a handsome profit. 
This is spare time work for him, as he is regularly 
sin ployed at his trade. 

WONDERFUL MATINGS. MORE SALES 
PROMISED. I received the 12 pairs of 
birds O. K. in fine shape April 11, 7 p.m., 
1 907. They are a nice-looking lot of breeders 
and all you claim them to be, as two of them 
laid eggs while in transit and two more laid 
to-day, April 13, so you see there is some- 
thing doing. The other six pairs are doing 
well. All laid but one oair, and I think they 
are coming along all right. I assure you that 
such fair treatment means a continuation of 
sales with me and I shall recommend the 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co. to those who are 
buying breeders. Will return baskets to-day. 
You can use this as a testimonial if you wish. 
— W. B. H., Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

206 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




BEAUTIFUL PAIR OF SPLASHES. 
The second bird on the left and the last bird on the right are types of oddly-marked Plymouth Rook Homers 

FEEDS HIS BIRDS LOCUST LEAVES AND PEPPER GRASS. BOSTON DEALER 
ALWAYS GIVES HIM MORE THAN THE MARKET QUOTATIONS BECAUSE HIS SQUABS 
ARE WORTH MORE. I purchased 12 pairs Extra Homers of the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company, in February. 1906, the best stock I could buy. I saved all my squabs for breeders up 
to January 1907, when I began to ship the squabs. _ They average 9 pounds to the dozen, 
and I receive from $3 to $4 per dozen for them. I ship to the Boston market. 

I feed my birds on wheat, cracked corn and kaffir com in equal parts, with peas and hemp- 
seed as dainties. I feed them in wooden traps, not finding any self-feeder which I like. A 
box containing grit, oyster shells and charcoal is kept before them all the time and the flying 
pen outside covered with coarse sand. I find pine needles to be the best nesting material, 
the birds building a small, neat, compact nest with them. 

I sell the pijeon manure to parties in town at 50 cents per bushel. My squab house is 36 
feet long by 14 wide, with a passageway three feet wide on one side. The birds are watered 
by fountains placed in the passageway. My flying pen is 36 feet wide, 18 feet long and ten 
feet high, divided into three parts. 

I find my birds to be very fond of locust leaves and pepper grass, eating it like grain. They 
like peas and hempseed so well that they will fly on to my hand for them. My birds are mostly 
blue checkers, with a few reds and silvers among them. 

I ship nearly every week to a large commission dealer in Faneuil Hall Market, who always 
gives me more than the market quotations. My birds are all in fine condition, no poor ones 
among them, and are raising big, fat squabs at the present time. (June, 1907.) — E. B. K., 
Massachusetts. 



MOVING, GOING INTO THE BUSINESS 
ON A LARGER SCALE. Our Homers have 
done fine since we have had them. We have 
doubled. So far we have lost only one pair 
of squabs and we think the parents smothered 
them. Then one of our young birds of our 
first pair got out and away and we think he 
was frozen or caught by a cat, for the night 
was a cold one. Now we are going to move 
and take a place where we can go into the 
business on a larger scale, so we will hope to 
send for more birds as soon as we get coops 
ready. — Miss H. L. A., New Jersey. 

PLYMOUTH ROCKS BEST IN MEMPHIS. 

I have lost only one bird from sickness I 
have had no trouble with lice at all. My 
birds keep very clean and are also very tame. 
I go to see all the pigeons around Memphis 
but find none as fine looking as yours. Your 
Manual is a fine teacher, why it is worth a 
dollar. I hope to have success by following 
vour Manual as I have done so far. — W. A., 
Tennessee. 



SQUABS TEN POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. 
GOING TO SHIP TO NEW YORK FROM 
IOWA. If you remember I bought some fine 
Homers of you a year ago last September. 
They were the Extras. They have done well. 
Must have now 150 birds, fine large ones at 
that. I can send squabs to New York from 
here for $1.50 per 50 pounds. That is what I 
want to do eventually. I weighed 12 squabs 
just as they came, one month old. They 
weighed a trifle over 10 pounds. One pair 
weighed two pounds exact. — J. C, Iowa. 

SUPERIOR HOMERS BREEDING EX- 
TREMELY LARGE SQUABS. Accept my 
thanks for your fair treatment with regard 
to my order of June. The birds are breeding 
extremely large squabs. Since then I have 
had given to me twelve pairs pedigreed 
Homers, but yours are superior in every way. 
Enclosed find P. O. money order, for which 
t lease send me six pairs Extra mated adult 
Homers and twelve wood-fibre nestbowls. — 
P. R. M., Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

207 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 











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PLYMOUTH ROCK BLUE BARS AND BLUE CHECKERS. 

BOY IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY 13 YEARS OLD GOT RID OF HIS FLOCK OF COMMON 
BIRDS AS SOON AS HE SAW PLYMOUTH ROCKS AND WHAT THEY WOULD DO. The 

nappies ordered of you came on time. My pigeons put them to use as soon as they arrived. 
I bought six pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers in January, 1907. I now (July) have 
32 large, full-breasted birds. Some of the young ones are going to work now. I am 13 years 
old and was anxious to do something to make a little money while going to school, and saw an 
advertisement of your Homers and made up my mind to try them. I am more than satisfied 
with my investment and within the next year I expect to have a very nice little income. 

In your Manual you show a diagram of a self-feeder, and I had one made which is very 
satisfactory, as it saves so much work and attention. I can get all the grain recommended 
by you except the buckwheat and hempseed, and I use red (instead of white) wheat, and my 
birds are thriving and doing well. 

I hope to be able to dispose of all I can raise here in my home market, as they are so large 
and fine. In fact, there is all the difference in the world between my Homer squabs and the 
ordinary scrub squab, and it will pay any one wanting to go in the business to get the best to 
start on. I weighed some of my squabs this morning (iust three weeks old) and they average 
one pound each, or two pounds to the pair. I had a flock of common birds and the squabs 
were dark skinned and weighed about eight ounces, and when I read of your birds I at once 
sold out and ordered from you, and I certainly feel that I made a good trade. I expect to 
order six pairs more soon. Thank you for the promptness and care taken of my orders. — 
L. G., Indian Territory. 



THREE DOLLARS A DOZEN FOR PLY- 
MOUTH ROCK SQUABS IN ARKANSAS. 

Please send six more pairs of your Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers and one dozen nest- 
bowls. We are able to get $3 a dozen for 
our squabs at the hotels here. — W. A. T., 
Arkansas. 



LARGEST EVER SEEN IN ONTARIO. 
The weather has been very cold here, 30 
degrees below zero, so I have kept a coal oil 
stove going most of the time. Your birds 
have been greatly admired. They are the 
biggest that have ever been seen here. — 
G. S. B., Ontario. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 



208 



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1908 




ON A RUNNING BOARD IN THE SUN. 

NESTBOWLS VERY PRACTICAL AND ARE A NECESSITY. BUSINESS SHEET OF A 
BEGINNER WITH SQUABS IN CANADA. On May 5, 1906, I received your lot of seven pairs 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, one pair out of tae seven being free, as some nestbowls were 
bought previously, to allow for the express charges on them. I may say that these bowls are 
very practical, as none of my squabs have suffered from sprawled feet as is noticed when earthen- 
ware nappies are used. 

Tne breeders were put in the pigeon houss the same night and it was not long before they 
became acquainted with their new home. Full instructions were sent before the pigeons reached 
here and as t.iese were clear it was very easy to follow them. .Sixteen days after their arrival 
there were two eggs in a nest. This was an event, as many friends were interested. They 
were much surprised to see these three-week-old squabs weighing 14 ounces and even more 
than 16 ounces at four weeks. Their common pigeons were looking very small against my 
Plymouth Rock Homers which were looking so fine. It was really funny to hear them taking 
notice of the wonderful difference. Mine were looking so fine with their large breasts, their 
bright-looking eyes, their wings which look to be detached from them. The opinion of my 
friends was that they were the finest birds they ever saw. 

At the end of the first month there were four squabs and six eggs, at the end of October 12 
pairs of eggs had been laid and hatched, making a total of 22 pairs of squabs at the end of six 
months. All the squabs of the first August were eaten at a family dinner and proclaimed the 
finest squabs that were ever served on such an occasion. Since that time we disposed of the 
squabs for breeding purposes and for eating. Last winter I had 15 pairs of squabs laid but as 
the winter was very cold some of the squabs died because the parents were not acclimated, 
but I am sure that this winter will not be so fatal as they will be acclimated. Since April, 1907, 
I have had 29 pairs of eggs, of which 26 pairs of squabs have been eaten. In consequence, 
pigeon keeping in Quebec has proved to be a success, a paying business, when proper birds are 
used — that is, the Plymouth Rock Squab Company Homers. 

Business Sheet of an Amateur Squab Breeder. 
May 5, 1906 to September 1, 1907. 
Total of eggs laid, 66 pairs. 
Total of pounds of grains, 638, at a cost of $11.47. 

Rations of Grains for Feeding Purposes. 

Winter Summer 

Peas 30 lbs. 30 lbs. 

Red Wheat 15 lbs. 25 lbs. 

Buckwheat 15 lbs. 15 lbs. 

Cracked corn (not sifted) 40 lbs. 30 lbs. 

During September and October I fed 30 pounds red wheat and 40 pounds peas. 
The pigeons are sold in Montreal for: 50 — 70 cents per pair in winter, 45 — 55 cents per 
pair in autumn, 30—40 cents per pair in spring, 25 — 35 cents per pair in summer. Average 
price, 40 cents per pair — G. G.. Canada. 

KNOW WHERE TO BUY WHEN THEY BEAUTIES, EXCELLENT LAYERS, VERY 

WANT THE PIGEONS WHICH ARE THE HEALTHY. In September, 1904, 1 purchased 

VERY BEST IN EVERY RESPECT. In from you 12 pairs of birds. We have in- 

February, 1906, I bought pigeons from you creased our flock to over 100 pairs so at 

from which I am raising the finest flock of present (October, 1907) I am obliged to sell 

pigeons that I ever saw. I am sending to you some of our young birds for the need of 

herewith with hopes of getting more from you making room J or others. They are beauties 

that are equally as good if not better than and give good satisfaction. They are excellent 

the ones I got last year. The enclosed order lavers, hatching fine, large squabs weighing, 

is partly for myself and partly foi Mr. Ritter, from eight to 12 ounces and are very healthy, 

who has been corresponding with you recently. Perhaps next year I shall be situated so I can 

We want pigeons that are the very best in order about 50 pairs of your first-class 

every resoect. — W. A. G., Ohio. breeders. — E. E. H., New Jersey. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

209 - 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




INTERIOR OF MASSACHUSETTS CUSTOMER'S HOUSE. 
Wire netting is used always to separate the units, not board partitions. This breeder has not set nest boxes 
up against the wire netting, but this is done in almost every ease. 

NEVER HAD A SICK BIRD AMONG OURS, BUT BIRDS FROM ANOTHER SOURCE ARE 
WEAK AND POOR BREEDERS, HANDLED UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS/ You will 
probably remember me as having bought two dozen pairs of Plymouth Rock pigeons from you 
last November. Out of the 25 pa'irs you sent me, I have 20 pairs working. One bird died, 
one got away and one cock bird I killed. I thought I would try some one else's birds to see 

what they would do, so I bought two dozen pairs from . I built a new house 

exactly the same as I put your birds in, and have given them the same treatment, but they 
are not doing as well as your birds. They do not seem strong and vigorous like your birds. 

I would like you to send me 24 pairs of your very best Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I 
am not particular as to color so long as the quality is there. 

I have kept the birds I got from the other man in a pen by themselves as I want to give 
them a fair chance. They may be young birds, as they do not seem to care for their eggs and 
young as they should do. I give them exactly the same treatment as I give the others, but 
they do not seem as vigorous as your birds. I have never had a sick bird among yours, since 
I got them, only the one that died soon after I received them. — J. W., West Virginia. 



NEWS OF OUR SUCCESS CARRIED TO 
INDIA. Having heard something of your 
wonderful success in this business from a 
gentleman from America, I should very much 
like to hear full particulars. I have some 
young nephews in California whom 1 should 
like to help make a start in some way. — 
M. C. H., Bombay, India. 

LOST ONLY TWO YOUNG SQUABS. Will 
you be so kind as to tell me where I can get 
a good cut of a pair of Homer pigeons? My 
birds which I bought of you are doing well. 
I have not lost any but two young squabs 
before they were grown. They are certainly 
nice. — L. L. D., Georgia. 



GOOD MATINGS. FOUR NESTS SIX 
DAYS AFTER REACHING KENTUCKY. 

Homers received in splendid condition on 
March 8. They are surely a beautiful lot of 
birds. Am very much pleased with them 
and hope to duplicate order in a short time. 
They have built four nests already. (March 14.) 
— I. P. Y., Kentucky. 

ONE HUNDRED SQUABS A MONTH 
WEIGHING ELEVEN TO FOURTEEN 
OUNCES. I have nothing but your Extra 
stock exclusively and am now turning out 100 
or more fine squabs weighing 11 to 14 ounces 
and over every four weeks. — E. M., South 
Carolina. 



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1908 



SIX SQUABS WEIGHED A LITTLE OVER 
FOUR AND ONE HALF POUNDS. I am 

sending you by mail a photo of one of my 
pigeon houses. 1 cannot have both houses 
taken in the same pictiu"e because they are 
too far apart. Tnis picture was taken when 
I had only 25 pairs of birds in it. I now 
have 45 pairs in it, all your birds, and they 
are doing fine. Tne birds are not quite 
through t»ie moult yet but they have been 
breeding right along. I killed six squabs 
to-day and they weighed a little over four 
and one-half pounds aft^r they were picked; 
so that s not so bad, considering that they are 
moulting. Please let me know if you can 
let me have two pairs of good Carneaux, 
something you can recommend, as I would 
like to get good ones. — W. I. L., West 
Virginia. 




WOMEN ENJOY SQUAB RAISING. 

HE HAS THE LARGEST HOMERS IN HIS 
PENNSYLVANIA TOWN. I think it is time 
to let you know about my birds which I got 
from you in April, 1906. Well, they are 
doing all right. You know I got three pairs. 
Now (May, 1907) I have 36. About 16 
young ones died last winter on account of the 
very cold weather we had. I must thank you 
very much for the birds which you sold me. 
We have quite a lot of people that have 
Homer pigeons around here, but I have the 
largest of them all, so I am well satisfied and 
shall always recommend your squab farm 
and your Homers. — H. D. K., Pennsylvania. 

EXTRA POCKET MONEY. I thought I 
would write and tell you how my birds are 
getting about. I have raised squabs enough 
to pay for their expenses and extra pocket 
money. — J. D., Massachusetts. 



EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCKS SUPERIOR 
TO ANY RUNT CROSSES AT MUCH LESS 
COST. I have been interested in your 
advertisements for some time, and if you will 
favor me with any suggestions regarding my 
own birds, I will be grateful. About two 
years ago, I got some Runt-Homer crosses 
of the best strain, thinking tnem best for 
heavy squabs. Tney are as prolific as can be, 
but the squabs weigh only 14 or 15 ounces 
at four weeks old. The surroundings, feeding, 
etc., are all right, as I am only keeping a few 
pairs for pleasure of it. Would like to be put 
aright. — P. A. R., California. 

Answer. The strain of Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers we have developed are superior 
in weight of squabs and rate of breeding to 
any Runt cross, at one-fourth the cost of 
Runts. The only birds superior to our Extra 
Homers are our Carneaux. These breed 
squabs weighing 12 pounds and more to the 
dozen, and breed faster than Homers. 

NO LET-UP IN BREEDING IN STATE 
OF WASHINGTON. FINE, FAT SQUABS. 

Since last August I have been a very sick 
man; in fact, came very close to the divide, 
but have not crossed over yet. (April, 1907.) 
About my pigeons, I have not noticed any 
let up about their breeding since they com- 
menced last May. I have about 150 all told 
new, fine big fellows. I have fed them red 
wheat, kaffir corn, hemp seed and the small 
yellow seed you recommended, have forgotten 
its name, with grit, clam shell from the 
beach, _ salt and charcoal once in a while, 
fountain of water in the house and running 
water in the yard. The birds do not like 
strangers. They are not afraid of me I 
have some fine fat squabs. You can im- 
prove on your hopper feeder by nailing a lath 
on the inch piece to which the feeding holes 
are nailed. Let it stand up one-half to 
three-quarters inches above the one-inch 
piece. It does not allow them to pull out 
the grain so fast. I send you a picture of 
the house and yard with a few of the pigeons 
on roosts. — G. H., State of Washington. 

TWELVE PAIRS OUT OF THIRTEEN 
PAIRS AT WORK IN TWELVE DAYS 
AFTER RECEIPT. I thought it might be 
of interest to you to know how my little flock 
of birds are getting along. It has been just 
twelve days since they arrived and I now have 
twelve pairs out of the baker's dozen at work. 
It strikes me that there is " something doing." 
I have a nice, roomy home for them and do 
everything that I can to make them happy, 
and enjoy the care of them very much. I 
feel now as though I will succeedand if I do 
I will build me a unit plant next spring and 
will stock it with your Homers. I go East 
about once a year as far as New York, and the 
next time I go, I will go over to Boston and visit 
your plant. — B. A., Georgia. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPAN' 

211 



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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




AT THE BACK OF A BARN. 
Showing how a New York customer made a handsome home for his birds without doing any building. (This 
flying pen is shown in detail on next illustrated page.) 

THAT THE WORK IS NOT BEYOND THE PERSON OF AVERAGE ABILITY IS PROVED 
BY THE SUCCESS OF THIS 15-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO HAD NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE 
AND NO GUIDE BUT THE MANUAL. Please send me prices on pigeon supplies, also prices 
on breeding stock, as I have mislaid those that I received from you about a year ago when 1 
purchased pigeons of you. I am only a boy of 15 and must wait until I can earn enough from 
the. ones I have. My Extra Plymouth Rock Homers have done very well. My brother bought 
six pairs of you and he sold them to me immediately after they began work before winter was 
half way begun. One pair died, so that left me only five pairs of breeders. I was so interested 
in these that I forgot about the pair that died. They worked fine until cold weather set in, 
having averaged a pair of squabs from each pair every seven weeks, but during the cold 
weather we raised less. Our loft being upstairs, in an old granary, was pretty cold. 

This spring (1907) they began work in earnest again, laying their eggs again before the squabs 
were two weeks old. One young pair only four months old raised a pair of squabs weighing 
one and one-half pounds. I have now about seventy-five (75) birds old and young and lots of 
eggs. 

We got 50 cents a pair for the squabs we sold, but I did not wish to sell many because I am 
to raise them for breeders. 

It certainly pays to buy the Extras, for everybody who sees them says they are splendid, but 
I believe your Manual is just as necessary to make it a paying business. I do not see how I 
could raise them without it. Perhaps I will want some more breeders if I get the building 
ready this summer. — G. L. G., Wisconsin. 



ONE SALE LED TO ANOTHER. No 

doubt you are acquainted with Carlton 
Daniel, who is a first cousin of mine. His 
pigeons looked so fine that they encouraged 
me to buy of you. I don't think mine can be 
beaten. — F. W., Indiana. 



OUTGROWN THE COOP. Please send me 
five dozen nestbowls and one drinking 
fountain by express. My coop has got too 
small to hold the birds. The dozen pairs 
you sent me have increased to 125 birds. — 
F. C. W., Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

212 



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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 




SHIPSHAPE FLYING PEN. 
This is the flying pen of the place illustrated on preceding page. By the use of inch boards the owner has finished 
off the timbers so that the effect is permanent and beautiful. 



THIS NEW JERSEY BREEDER RECEIVES $4.50 A DOZEN FOR HIS SQUABS AND THE 
DEMAND IS SO GREAT THAT HE CANNOT FILL HIS ORDERS, SO BUYS MORE BIRDS 

In sending my second order (January, 1907) for your Extra mated birds, I would like to put in 
a few words in regard to the birds I received from you in 1904. My birds have done firciy. 
I sent to Boston $30 for 12 pairs. The birds arrived in the finest shape that was ever seen in 
this part of New Jersey. I received the birds in May, 1904, and had eight pairs cf squabs in 
July. I then went to work and kept all the squabs for a short time until they got six to seven 
months old, then I went to mating them the way you show in your Manual. I now in Jamiary, 
1907, have 200 birds which is only one fourth of the birds I raised, but the demand for squabs 
was so great that I could not get the chance to save any for breeding. That is the reason why 
I send an ordtr for 50 pairs of your best birds. 

My house is 12 feet wide and 26 feet long with a hall three feet wide, one window on the 
north side and three windows on the south side, with 200 nests. My first house was 12 feet 
by 12 feet, but I found out that when handling Plymouth Rock Homers it does not take long 
for them to make money for a larger house, and to get a start in a business of our own. 

I would like to tell you that I put one advertisement in a paper of our town some time ago, 
not to sell my squabs for I had more orders than I could fill, but to let my friends know that 
I meant that th^re was money in handling your birds. The advertisement brought me so 
many orders that I didn't know what to do. 

The demand for squabs is so great that I get $4.50 per dozen. My squabs average nine to 
12 pounds to the dozen. 

I am going to build house No. 3 this spring and then I will need more of your fine birds. 

I would like to tell you a tew words in regard to the Manual. It is the finest I have ever read 
for the reason you show how to run a successful squab business. 

I use the self-feeder which you show in your Manual. I always find the feed clean and dry, 
which is the main part of the feeding part. I feed cracked corn, red wheat, Canada peas and 
hempseed. The feed bill will not exceed 85 cents a year per breeding pair. I can figure on 
nine pairs of squabs per vear at 75 cents per pair, which leaves me a net profit of $5.20 per 
year for each pair of breeders. 

I am perfectly satisfied with the results obtained from your birds and wish you continued 
success. — A. N., New Jersey. 



VALUES HIS BIRDS AT FIVE DOLLARS 
A PAIR. I would not sell my birds for five 
dollars a pair now. — C. E., New Jersey. 



USUAL STORY FROM IOWA. The birds 
received from you last winter are doing 
finely. — E. R. W. , Iowa. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

213 



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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



BIRDS FED ONLY CRACKED BARLEY. 
KNOWS WHERE TO GET MORE BIRDS. 

I have some line birds and am c:uck on that 
last basketful you sent — tiiose nice dark 
checkers, and some of tne nicest sky blue I 
ever saw. I have some young birds from 
the last ones you sent me tnat will mate in 
two or three weeks, so you can see they did 
not lose much time after shedding feathers. 
There was a man at my place, whose name I 
forget. He said his birds were from your 
place and that my birds were livelier than 
his. I told him if he would follow your book 
he would be all right. I told him he was 
feeding too much, or he was not giving them 
the right feed, and he said he was feeding 
cracked barley so he cannot expect much 
from his birds. 

I went to the market to find out what they 
are paying for birds. They are paying 25 
cents apiece for old common birds and he said 
that they pay more for Homer squabs. 

My birds are getting along finely. I am 
going to get 60 cents a bushel for manure 
with straw in it, which I think is a good price. 

If I want any more birds I know where to 
get them and that is from your place. — J. C, 
Wisconsin. 

READY SALE IN LOUISIANA FOR \LL 
SQUABS THAT CAN BE PRODUCED. 
PRICES ARE GOOD, RANGING FROM $2.50 
TO $4.00 A DOZEN. I received your 
National Standard Squab Book on the evening 
of the 5th inst. and have studied same over 
carefully several times and will say that I 
am perfectly satisfied with it and consider 
your Manual one of much value and indis- 
pensable to one who intends to raise squabs. 
I expect to order from you in half dozen and 
dozen lots, until I get me a good flock of 
breeders. _ (This I will have to do on account 
of my limited means and again I am not at 
my home. I am employed by the railroad 
company as foreman and my house is 25 
miles from my work. However, I am con- 
fident that I will be in a position to quit 
railroading in 12 months from now if I have 
good luck with birds.) I have an ideal place 
for a squab plant containing 12 acres of 
good land and nice dwelling and out buildings. 
I have also investigated the marketing of 
squabs in this territory and find that I can get 
ready sale for all that I can produce at from 
$2.50 to $4.50 per dozen, according to weight 
and plumpness. — T. H., Louisiana. 

THIS ILLINOIS YOUNG WOMAN HAS 
GD7EN US HALF A DOZEN ORDERS FOR 
BIRDS BETWEEN 1903 AND 1908. Please 
find enclosed two post-office monev orders 
for $125 and send me 50 pairs Extra Plymouth 
Rocks. Mv mother's sickness interfered 
with my plans. I have lost many orders by 
not having enough breeders. I think it safe 
to trv now. — Miss J. M., Illinois. 



HAS KEPT PIGEONS FOR YEARS. 
PLYMOUTH ROCKS DO BETTER THAN 
ANY HE EVER BRED. I had 35 pairs of 
your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers to start 
with. Tney are fine Lirds and very good 
breeders. I have kept pigeons for years, 
but yours do as well and in some respects 
better than any I ever had. I intended to 
breed them for squabs, but there is such a 
call for good breeders that I have not had 
any chance to sell squabs. — A. T. K., Massa- 
chusetts. 

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY EARNING 
POCKET MONEY FOR TWO YEARS. 

About two years ago I bought three pairs 
of your best Homer breeders and they are 
getting along very nicely. I am only 15 
years old. I am running my business the 
way described in your National Standard 
Squab Book. Have you a 1907 copy of this 
book? — J. A. M., Wisconsin. 




NEST OF STRAW AND FEATHERS. 
Some birds build a scanty nest, using only a few 
wisps of straw, with perhaps a feather or two. A 
nestbowl is an absolute necessity for such pairs, 
otherwise the eggs soon roll apart or out of the nest box. 
In April, 1907, a Missouri woman wrote us as follows: 
"Enclosed find draft for $11.52, for which please send 
me one gross of nestbowls. One year ago I started 
with 40 pairs of Homers. Now I have something 
over 400 birds. I have lost a great number of eggs, 
and feel like I must have the nestbowls, as they pre- 
vent the eggs from rolling out. Send them at once." 

GETTING RID OF COMMON PIGEONS 
AND PURCHASING PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 
THE MOST WEIGHTY BIRDS HE EVER 
SAW. I have a number of common birds 
which I am either going to sell, or kill them 
for my own use, but I will exert every effort 
to sell them and purchase more birds of you, 
as I think yours are the most weighty birds 
I ever saw. As soon as I am rid of what 
common birds I have on hand now, you may 
expect my order for some more of your 
breeders. — T. W., New York. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

214. 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



QUICK WORK BY THE NEW FLOCK OF 
A NINE-YEAR-OLD BOY. I should per- 
haps have written you earlier of my boy's 
success with the Plymouth Rock Homers 
which you sent. One pair were nesting in 
three days and inside of three weeks there 
are, I think, ten of tie thirteen pairs at work, 
and if my recollection serves me, inside of 
four weeks he had ten or a dozen squabs 
hatched. 

It is now nearly five weeks since he had 
them and some of the squabs are nearly large 
enough to market. I consider this a pretty 
good record. — H. C, New York. 

Note. The above gentleman is a well- 
known business New Yorker. His boy is 
only nine years old. 




DIFFERENT SIZES. 
This shows two squabs, one of which is growing 
faster than the other. This means that it is pushing 
its smaller mate out of the way at feeding time and 
getting more feed from the parents. In such cases, 
the bigger one will grow fast and the smaller one will 
be stunted. The latter should be helped by being 
taken out of the nest and put alongside a squab of 
its own size in another nest, the larger squab there 
being brought back to grow up with a mate of its own 
size. The parents in both cases do not neglect the 
new comer. 

MARYLAND CUSTOMER SATISFIED 
AND ENLARGING. On November 27, 1906, 
I received from you 50 pairs of Plymouth 
Rock pigeons. I put them into what I 
considered an up-to-date house, using nappies 
for nests. I am starting another pen and 
expect before fall to have 150 pairs of good 
stock. I feed cracked com and wheat and 
I also give the Canada peas when I can get 
them, a little hemp and rice once in awhile. 
1 am entirely satisfied and when I am in the 
market for more birds, Elmer Rice's birds will 
do for me. Thank you for your many 
kindnesses. — W. B. C, Maryland. 



QUICK BEGINNING BY MATED PAIRS. 
ALL AT WORK WITHIN TWO WEEKS 
AFTER DELIVERY AND A PAIR OF 
SQUABS ON HIS TABLE WITHIN SEVEN 
WEEKS. MORE ORDERS FOLLOW. 
Within seven weeks from the date of receipt 
of the birds I ordered from you, I have had a 
pair of broiled squabs on my table, and such 
squabs I never saw before. A few days before 
they were four weeks old, they weighed a 
pound each. 

Some of my pairs went to work within 
five days and all of them within two weeks 
after their receipt. It has been less than 
three months since I received the seven 
pairs, and I have killed two pairs squabs, 
and my flock has more than doubled. I 
think this is a good record. I can readily sell 
my young pigeons here for breeding purposes 
at good prices, but as I ordered them to raise 
squabs for my own table, have, so far, declined 
to sell any. 

Two of my neighbors have duplicated my 
order since they have seen mine, and I am 
sure other orders will follow. 

I am delighted with the business and take 
a great interest in my birds, which have 
learned my voice, and when I go out to the 
fly, come fluttering at my call. I prefer 
squabs to chickens, and they are much less 
trouble, and so much easier to raise. — J. M., 
Mississippi. 

BEST THESIS HE EVER READ ON ANY 
SUBJECT. I have the pleasure of acknowl- 
edging receipt of your National Standard 
Squab Book and having read it once through 
and made notations of details (not indexed) 
at the sides of the pages, I can get the meat 
of any subject promptly. I want to say 
(which, of course, must have been said a 
great many times to you) that " it is bully," 
it is the best thesis I ever read on any subject. 
I have tried to think of questions that sug- 
gested themselves to me I would like an- 
swered^ but in vain. You have answered 
everything. I want to state to any one 
interested in squabs, surelv your Manual is 
worth its weight in gold. — W. C., Wisconsin. 

NEVER WAS TREATED MORE FAIRLY. 

My birds arrived October 1 in first-class 
condition, earlier than I expected. Never 
spent money for anything better. They are 
regular beauties. I thank you for the extra 
pair; I never was treated more fairly. Hope 
to give you a larger order next time. — P. M., 
New Orleans. 

MAN OF FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE 
HAS NEVER SEEN BETTER HOMERS 
THAN OURS. The birds came safe last 
night. I toldyou before, I had some of that 
sort (a few pairs) continuously, for over forty 
years. I never had any better and many 
inferior in fancy points. Accept my thanks — 
L. O., New York. 



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1908 



MATED PAIRS START QUICKLY. BEST 
BREEDERS IN A LIFE-TIME OF EXPERI- 
ENCE. SUGGESTION FOR CITY PEOPLE. 
SURE WAY OF MATING. I have received 
yours of the 18th and am following out your 
request. About the color, either a blue or 
a red checker cock will do._ I should like to 
know how I am to get him. I started in 
just one month ago with my shipment of 12 
birds and about five days later, in which time 
they had to pick up from the fatigue of the 
journey, a pair of blues were sitting on eggs. 
This was kept up at intervals by the others 
until now when I have ten young ones and 
two eggs, which are being hatched by a pair 
of nights. 

Barring one sick one I can honestly call this 
a good investment because I have had 
pigeons since I was ten years old and in that 
time I have not seen any better done. Should 
they keep this up, I find the market good, I 
shall buy some more this spring. You said 
the Eagle and Sun had quotations on squabs, 
but unless it is somewhere else than on the 
market page, neither of these papers has 
them. They want a dollar a pair for them in 
butcher shops. 

The Manual is all right, but if you want 
suggestions I should say that the way you 
describe for having pigeons in the city is very 
seldom used. The most popular way is 
putting a coop and screen on a flat roof or 
on poles in the yard. This is the way you 
will see most coops in Brooklyn and New 
York. However, the way you describe is a 
very good advice for those with peaked roofs, 
as I know many people would have pigeons 
if their roofs weren't peaked. On mating 
birds I should also tell of a very effectual 
way I have for mating stubborn pigeons who 
absolutely refuse to mate. This is to put 
them in a box or something so that they 
cannot get any light and leave them so until 
you think they ought to be taken out and 
then put them together and in most cases 
they will be so glad to get back to light and 
see another pigeon that they will mate right 
away. Should they still refuse repeat the 
method until they do, but this method has 
worked so that I have yet to come across the 
one I could not mate this way. — H. H.. New 
York. 

FIRST SQUABS WHEN TWO WEEKS OLD 
WEIGHED TWELVE AND FOURTEEN 
OUNCES. Perhaps you will be interested 
to know that the fhst pair of squabs at two 
weeks weigh 12 and 14 ounces respectively. 
Am pleased with the weight. — A. T. V., 
New Hampshire. 

ONE YEAR CF PROGRESS. Enclosed 
find money order for which please send me 
six dozen wood fibre nestbowls by freight. 
The Homers I got from you about a year ago 
are working splendidly. — E. A., Pennsylvania. 



MONEY-MAKING STORY BRIEFLY 
TOLD. BIG FLOCK RAISED FROM SMALL 
PURCHASE. PROLIFIC BREEDERS. If 

you remember, I bought from you in the 
autumn of 1906 12 pairs of squab breeders. 
One pair went to work the second day after 
arrival, the others following in close order. 
In two weeks every pair but one had eggs. I 
now have (October, 1907) 576 pigeons, two 
pairs having raised 11 pairs per year, the 
others nine and ten. I feed cracked com, 
whole wheat, hemp seed, barley, kaffir corn 
and rice. During the moulting season I 
feed a good quantity of hemp seed. I think 
the squab business is a very good money 
making enterprise if well attended to. — 
R. F. S., New York. 




AN INEXPENSIVE START. 

TWO YEARS' SUCCESS. GOING TO 

SHIP TO BIGGER MARKET. I am now 

raising more squabs than our local market 
demands at reasonable price and in order 
to obtain good prices must find market 
elsewhere. Can you put me in the way of 
same? I bought my first Homers of you in 
August, 1905 ; and have had remarkable 
success with pigeons, having lost but 15 that 
were able to fly, in all the time since then. I 
will feel very grateful for any information 
you may be able to give me. Also kindly 
quote me price on 50 pairs Plymouth Rock 
Homers, as I think of adding another loft. — 
C. H., Wisconsin. 

ALL PAIRS AT WORK QUICKLY. PLY- 
MOUTH ROCKS RECOMMENDED ABOVE 
ALL IN DELAWARE. My Homers arrived 
safe and I am certainly pleased with them. 
They are all mated and I expect eggs soon. 
I recommend your birds above all. I told 
several parties about my birds and I think 
they will give you an order. — R. W. , Delaware. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

216 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



LAYING AND HATCHING WITH TEM- 
PERATURE FIFTEEN DEGREES BELOW 
ZERO. My first pair laid and hatched out 
squabs which grew the fastest of anything I 
ever saw. When the eggs were laid and the 
birds were hatched it was 15 degrees below 
zero half of the nights (February, 1907) and 
the water in the fountain in the squab-house 
froze hard every night. My first young birds 
are about as large as the old birds (April) and 
are flying just as easilv, I think, as the old 
birds.— M. S. B., New York. 

Note. The old pigeons protect both the 
eggs and the squabs more closely in cold 
weather. They adapt their attention to the 
climate. Do not fear that you cannot raise 
winter squabs, even if you live in the coldest 
parts of Canada. 

NOT ONE SICK. NO LICE. My pigeons 
are getting along very nicely. You sent me 
13 pairs last December and now (July, 1907) 
I have about 30 pairs. Not a one has been 
the least sick, and have not been troubled 
with mites nor lice among them as yet. Will 
soon have to double the size of my house. I 
attend to them myself. — M. V. B., South 
Carolina. 




A ROW OF BEAUTIES. 

SELLING IN ST. LOUIS FOR $4.50 A 
DOZEN. You will find enclosed herewith 
an order with remittance for 55 pairs of your 
Extra Homer pigeons, which I hope to receive 
as soon as possible. You will find also that 
I send order for yarious other supplies which, 
if you think it will be cheaper, you will please 
send by freight. 

The pigeons I purchased of you last year 
are doing nicely and have produced some 
fine, large squabs. They are selling in St. 
Louis for $4.50 per dozen. Thank you for 
fair dealing in the past and wish you success 
in the future. — R. C. H., Missouri. 

THREE ORDERS FROM ONE TOWN. 

Enclosed herewith I send you check for which 
please send me seven pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Homers. I ordered' seven pairs from you a 
short time ago, and also had Mr McRaven 
duplicate my order. — J. B., Mississippi. 

GOING TO TRY IT AGAIN. Please send 

fe your printed matter as soon as you can. 
had some of your Homers a year ago and 
they did very well. I expect to buy some 
more. — J. J. R., District of Columbia. 



CHICAGO MAN REPLACING HIS FIRST 
BIRDS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 
AND BUILDING A LARGE PLANT. Your 
letter of October 28 at hand. Please send me 
the female as soon as possible as I can mate her 
with the otner male. I still have the birds in 
the crate but will empty it Saturday. I am 
building now to accommodate 500 pairs of 
birds and have torn down my old coop so I 
have not had place to keep my birds. I am 
building it in units of 50 pairs to each unit. 
Am getting rid of my common birds as fast 
as possible. 

From March first to the present time 
(October) I have 38 youngsters from my 
original six pairs, three pairs of which were 
No. 1 and three pairs Extra. Both birds bred 
alike, _ with the exception of the Extras 
breeding a much larger squab. Eleven pairs 
of youngsters have eggs at present. I have 
lost none and with the exception of the 
moulting season, I think I have done fairly 
well. I have not sold any as yet, but have 
been asked to. Not wishing to sell any until 
I have 50 pair, I had to refuse the order, but 
referred him to you. People who have seen 
my Homers think well of them and I believe 
I have a few interested. — A. S. C., Chicago. 

TRIED TO GET ALONG WITHOUT THE 
INSTRUCTION BOOK AT FIRST. I have 
bought two sets of Extra Homers of you, but 
have had bad luck. I do not have any now. 
I am going to read up on the care of pigeons 
before going into it again. I have vour 
National Standard Squab B«ok of 1905 "and 
think that it is very well written and it con- 
tains some very sound advice, which if I had 
followed I never would have failed. Is the 
1907 edition different?—!. H. O.. Iowa. 

EVERY PAIR BREEDING SHORTLY 
AFTER ARRIVAL IN FAR WEST. I received 
seven pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers the 
first part of April and now (May 20) have 
five pairs of squabs a week old and the other 
two pairs are setting. I am well pleased. 
Strong, healthy birds. It is a wonder the 
way the young squabs grow. — R. R., State 
of Washington. 

LITTLE LOT GAVE HIM CONFIDENCE 
TO BUILD AND ORDER MORE BIRDS. 

The three pairs of pigeons I received from 
you in January are doing finely (April, 1907), 
and I would like to have you send me one of 
your plans for building, and as soon as I have 
the plans I will send to you for some more 
pigeons. — R. S., Chicago. 

EXACTLY AS REPRESENTED. The 

breeders I got from you are first-class and 
exactly as you said they would be, and are 

well. Please send me prices on grit and other 
supplies, also on 12 pairs breeders. — W. J. W., 
Pennsylvania. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

217 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



TWO CUSTOMERS WHICH HAVE BRED 
LARGE FLOCKS FROM SMALL BEGIN- 
NINGS. Mr. Bartholemew of this place has 
about 250 birds which he has bred from six 

Eairs of No. 1 Plymouth Rock Homers which 
e says he got of you. I notice tne difference 
between the Extra and No. 1 Homers. Mrs. 
Virkler has about 150 birds of Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers bred from six pairs. — C. W. B., 
New York. 




EATING FROM HIS HAND. 
The California man who owns these pigeons writes: 
"They are beauties and breed fine squabs. I have 
bred squabs from your Homers weighing a pound 
apiece. Your Manual is straight and true." 

RECOMMENDED VERY HIGHLY BY A 
LOUISIANA FRIEND. Enclosed you will 
find a money order for which you will please 
send me by express six pairs Plymouth Rock 
Homers No. 1 mated. I trust you will_ make 
me a good selection, as I am expecting to 
raise pigeons and wish the best. You have 
been recommended very highly to me by Mr. 
Joseph Malbrough, as he has ordered_ the 
Plymouth Rocks from you. — H. H., Louisiana. 



SQUABS WEIGHING FROM SIXTEEN 
OUNCES TO NINETEEN OUNCES EACH. 
OUR STOCK AND OUR SELF-FEEDER 
GET THIS RESULT IN TEXAS. I bought 
six pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers 
from you last November, and I now (May, 
1907) have 31 in all, and 17 youngsters. 
Four pairs have eggs. Out of the 17 squabs, 
I lost only one, the death of that being caused 
by one of the parent birds stepping on one 
the day he was hatched. My squabs have 
weighed one pound to a pound and three 
ounces. 

I have built a pen for my young squabs 
as you advise to do, and I find that they do 
very much better. 

The things that I find most necessary are, 
to have a clean house, water and feed, so I 
clean my squab house every two weeks, and 
have clean water and feed always. I use your 
self-feeder so the pigeons can feed their young 
whenever they choose. 

The ground of my flypens is covered with 
sand, and I renew it every month. I also 
use oyster grit and rock. It is placed in the 
squab-house, where they can get it any time 
they want it. I feed wheat and kaffir com 
and a little cracked corn now and then, but 
they do not need much corn as the weather 
here in Texas is warm nearly all the year 
around. 

I think your Homers are the best I ever 
saw, and every one that sees them says the 
same thing about them. 

Any one starting into squab raising should 
buy your Manual. I have been trying _ to 
follow it as nearly as possible and by doing 
so I think I will succeed in raising squabs. 

I intend to order more pigeons of you at 
once. — F. S., Texas. 

SUCCESSFUL BREEDING BY THE 
SISTERS OF A CHICAGO CATHOLIC 
HOSPITAL. Please send us 36 pairs (Janu- 
uary, 1907) the same as you did the four pairs 
a short while ago. Kindly send the very best 
breed only. — Sister M. M., Illinois. 

Note. In September, 1907, we shipped 36 
pairs more Extra Plymouth Rock Homers to 
the above customer, who is the sister superior 
of a well-known hospital in Chicago. 

NEW JERSEY FRIENDS SATISFIED. 

Enclosed please find check to cover order for 
24 pairs Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and 
supply of feed. We know your dealings have 
been square with friends of ours in New 
Jersey. We have plenty of ground here and 
everything going right. Will soon have the 
other houses finished up. — G. M., Massa- 
chusetts. 

INCREASED FIVE-FOLD IN SIX 
MONTHS. Regarding the ten pairs of birds 
I bought from you last spring, I now (Novem- 
ber, 1907), have 52 pairs. — C. V., Ontario. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

218 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



WISCONSIN HOTEL PAYING $3.50. 
SQUABS WEIGHING TEN AND THREE- 
FOURTHS POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. I 

thought I would write you a few lines. I 
want to buy some more birds from you, 
seeing I am getting along so nicely with the 
others you sent me. I am getting $3.50 a 
dozen at the Plankaton House. They weigh 
ten and three-fourths pounds to the dozen. 
He said they were some of the best squabs 
ne had ever seen. He wants me to come 
down some night to have a little talk with 
me. _ I want to get a basket of birds from 
you in about a week and about three dozen 
of nest bowls and a couple of weeks later, 
some more birds, if everything goes all right. 
I have some fine young birds, some of them 
weighing a pound apiece. I find out that 
you are a nice man to deal with and that 
everything you say is all right and that the 
birds cannot be praised too much. Guess I 
will close, hoping everything is going good. 
— S. H., Wisconsin. 

STEADY GROWTH IN THREE YEARS. 
ORDERS FOR SQUABS OUTRUN BIRDS, 
SO MORE ARE BOUGHT. I am going to 
send soon, before February (1907), probably 
in a week, for 50 pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Homer squab breeders, and want to engage 
them at once, before the February trade 
begins. 

I bought of you six pairs three years ago, 
since then 12 pairs, 18 pairs and 12 pairs 
again. (Four orders.) 

I do not yet have enough for the orders. 
The birds are doing better constantly. Their 
houses are better, and I know more how to 
care for them, and what things are important. 
Have almost finished a house — all but nests 
and a little finishing of yard. It seems as 
if it would be a good plan to get birds now 
before the really cold weather comes. I 
want the Extras, best you have. — M. I., 
Illinois. 

LIVELY WORK IN MISSOURI AND THE 
LARGEST SQUABS EVER SEEN. I am in 

receipt of my six pairs Extra pigeons and am 
very thankful to you for the care you have 
taken in sending these to me. I had them 
just one week when two pairs had eggs, and 
I was so surprised, but yesterday I was still 
more surprised when I went into the pigeon 
house and found four pairs setting, and two 
of these had young squabs. Every one of 
my neighbors is surprised to see the nice 
pigeons you sent me. Mr E. C. Rice, I will 
in every respect recommend your goods 
very highly and I am sure that you will 
appreciate it. These squabs are the largest 
that I have ever seen. I will have one of 
my fiends take a snap shot of my pigeon 
house and send you a picture. — E. B., 
Missouri. 



MORE ORDERS FOR SQUABS THAN 
HE CAN FILL. HOW TO FEED SUN- 
FLOWER SEEDS. I am thinking about 
planting a batch of sunflower seeds. Will 
you please let me know if this is a good feed 
for t.iem, and how to feed it — either fresh 
from the stalk or pick it and let it dry. It 
would be a great saving to feed this during 
the winter for me. The pigeons bought 
from you are O.K., doing their duty. I have 
more orders for my squabs than I can fill 
and getting 35 to 40 cents apiece. I do not 
do any plucking. My pigeons are doing fine 
considering being locked in all the time. — 
W. S., New York. 

Note. Sunflower seeds are good for pigeons, 
being used largely as a substitute for hemp- 
seed. Cut off the heads when grown and dry 
them. When you wish to feed a head, throw 
it into the pen whole and the -pigeons will 
pick out the seeds. 




READY TO KILL 
These squabs are four weeks old. See how plump 
and broad-breasted they are. 

FLORIDA FRIENDS ENTHUSIASTIC 
OVER PLYMOUTH ROCKS. I have a friend 
who is very enthusiastic over my pigeons. 
He will send you an order the first of the 
coming week for 48 pairs of your Extra 
Plymouth Rocks such as mine Do your 
best for him. Of course he expects to get 
two extra pairs thrown in as a premium. My 
birds are getting along very nicely. — W. J. D., 
Florida. 

HAS HEARD FROM HIS FRIENDS. 1 

have heard from several of my friends about 
your birds, stating they were very fine. I 
want to get some of your stock. — S. W. H., 
Kentucky. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

219 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



WOULD NOT TRADE HIS PLYMOUTH 
ROCKS FOR ANY IN HIS MONTANA 
TOWN. I have had fair luck and in all the 
Homers in town from different companies, I 
would not trade the ones I got from you for 
any of them. Friday noon, April 12, by 
carelessness, some boy friends in going from 
the coop let one of my fine red checkers out, 
which I would not have parted with for $2. 
He rose into the air and after circling once 
flew away faster than I ever saw a pigeon fly 
before. In discussing the matter with some 
people, they think he will come back, but he 
has not. Others think he has gone back to 
you. — M. S., Montana. 

Note. Letters like the above come to us 
constantly. Guard your doors carefully. 
Have springs on them so they will close with- 
out attention. Homers which you raise you 
can safely let fly, because they know no 
home but yours, but Homers which you buy 
will fly off. ' 




SQUABS 25 DAYS OLD. 
Note that although they have been in the bowl 
since hatching, it is comparatively free from manure. 
They back up to the edge of the bowl and void into 
the nest box. It is the nature of pigeons to try to 
have clean nests, and they should be given a chance 
by the use of nestbowls. 

NO CONCEPTION OF THE BEAUTY AND 
SIZE OF OUR EXTRAS. I received the 
birds last evening, just 24 hours after my 
order was sent in — prompt work, that. 
After having read your Manual and a great 
many testimonials, I was expecting som? 
fine birds, but find I had no conception of the 
beauty and size of your Extras. T-ie compact 
bo-lies, rich, healthy color and uniformity of 
size were a thorough surprise. _ I am going to 
follow your directions given in the Manual, 
and you may count on me as a customer to 
the extent of my means. — Mrs. M. F. C, 
Massachusetts. 



PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN DEMAND 
IN THIS GEORGIA TOWN, bnclosed find 
my c..eck. Send me by express six pairs 
Extra blue-barred Plymouth Rock Homers, 
mated. I have about got this town started 
on raising pigeons. Mr. Barnes, my brother- 
in-law, has just hand.ed me your new circular. 
He tells me he has ordered 12 pairs from you. 
I hope you will ship him some nice birds. 
His son has just bought some birds from the 

■ and I want the birds you ship 

me and his father to make him regret that he 
did not order them from you. I ordered 
blue-barred birds from another party some 
time back and they sent me checkers. If 
I did not think you would send the^ order as 
I am sending it in, I would not send it to you. 

You remember I bought a few pairs cf birds 
from you a little over a year ago. I have sold 
a great many birds and I have about 100 to 
125 pairs of working birds on hand now. I 
am building me another pen that will hold 
about 200 pairs. — R. H. N., Georgia. 

RAISING PLYMOUTH ROCK STOCK 
ONLY. BEST BIRDS EVER SEEN ANY- 
WHERE. The birds came yesterday all 
O. K. and were fine birds, and thj hen with 
a little age will also be on top. Please accept 
my thanks. What I especially wanted was 
solid reds and when you do get hold of such 
a pair that is A No. 1. send them to me and 
send me the bill. I run raising strictly 
Plymouth Rock stock and have developed 
some A No. 1 birds, the best I have ever seen 
ar.ywhere, and so I swear by E. C. Rice stock. 
You state that not one in 100 birds are solid 
reds. I know this to be a fact. When I do 
go into the show I want to have the best of 
all colors and they shall be Extra Plymouth 
Rock stock— P. B. W., New York. 

OUR WHITE HOMERS COMPARED 
WITH OUR COLORED HOMERS. I do not 

know cf a man I would trust any quicker than 
you. I would like to know if you have pure 
white Homers that are as large, plump birds 
as your colored ones are. — G. M. L., Vermont. 
Answer. We charge $2.75 a pair for our 
white Homers. They are fine birds, as larjre 
as any white Homers in existence, but are not 
so large as our Extra colored Homers and do 
not breed so large a squab. They cost more 
because they are scarcer; we sell a lot of them 
for pets, for their handsome plumage, and 
for undertakers. 

PROLIFIC PLYMOUTH ROCKS HAVE 
BRED MORE SQUABS THAN ANY PIGEONS 
HE HAS. I came down to see you quite 
awhile ago and bought a pair of your Plymouth 
Rock Homers. Those Homers have bred 
more squabs than any other pigeons I have, 
and I have a good many. Will you please 
send me your catalogue of prices. — T. C, 
Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

220 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



FIVE MONTHS* "WORK. SMALL FLOCK 
QUADRUPLED. ONE OLD BIRD AND TWO 
SQUABS ONLY LOST BY DEATH. BREED- 
ERS OF COMMON PIGEONS MYSTIFIED. 

I write you a sort of detailed statement of how 
my four pairs of pigeons have done, that I 
bought from you about the middle of May, 
1907. One of my birds laid in about two 
weeks after her arrival, but the eggs did not 
hatch, and she laid again in about ten days 
fcfter I found her eggs were not good, and 
that time she hatched all right. Two other 
pairs commenced work soon after the first, 
and both of them hatched all right and the 
first three pairs of squabs did well. I have 
lost one of the hens that I bought from you. 
S!ie died after raising a fine pair of squabs. 
I have lost two squabs. 

I now have 18 birds in all, after deducting 
the three that I lost. All of my birds are now 
(October) at work, some making nests and 
some sitting. 

Mine are the only Homers in this part of 
the country that I know of, and every one 
who sees them is charmed with them. 

There are one or two parties here who are 
trying to raise the common pigeons on the 
same plan, that is by confining them, but are 
not doing_ much, and cannot understand 
why my birds do so much better than theirs. 
They say that if I make a success of the 
business they will then try Homers. 

I am very fond of the business and find it 
a great recreation, and very little trouble. 
I attend to my birds before breakfast in the 
morning and give them plenty of wati-r, and 
then at dinner time I feed them again, and 
that does them until next morning _ They are 
less trouble than anything of the kind that I 
ever had anything to do with, and I believe 
will be more profitable according to the amount 
of capital invested. — C. A. F., Mississippi. 

SECOND ORDER, BIRDS DOING WELL, 
ANOTHER ORDER IN PROSPECT. I here- 
with enclose you $1 in currency, for which 
please send me 50 open legbands for grown 
pigeons, numbered one to fifty. The last 
shipment of pigeons came to hand on the 
second in good shape, and are a nice lot of 
birds. I am well pleased with them. My 
birds are all doing well. I think that I shall 
give you another order soon. — F. R., Missis- 
sippi. (The first shipment to this customer 
was made in April, 1907, the second in 
October of the same year) . 

GREAT DEMAND FOR PLYMOUTH ROCK 
SQUABS IN NEW JERSEY. I received on 
May 27, 1904, one dozen pairs of your birds 
and I have 200 birds at the present time. 
There is a great demand for Plymouth Rock 
squabs in New Jersey. Please send me your 
price on 50 pairs of your best Extra mated 
birds. — N. L., New Jersey. 



FAST START IN TWO WEEKS IN NEW 
JERSEY. On April 22 I wrote you informing 
you of the arrival of the birds. Now (April 
29) there are two nests complete and six 
others being built, which I should think was 
pretty good work for birds not yet two weeks 
in a strange place. The birds have been 
highly praised for their fine appearance by 
a number of friends and acquaintances of 
mine, and of course the natural question was, 
where did I get them? And as I am a pretty 
good advertiser for any one that I considei 
to be worthy of such advertising, I have 
recommended your company as the right one 
to go to if th?y have any idea of investing.—* 
J. H., New Jersey. 




IN THE SNOW. 
Let them out on sunny winter days. In cold, 
stormy weather they are better off inside. 

FINEST BIRDS THAT HE EVER SAW 
IN LOUISIANA, RESULT, MANY MORE 
ORDERS. I received my birds Saturday 
evening, November 2, at 7 p.m. Found 
them all in A 1 shape and are the finest birds 
I ever saw. Please accept my most sincere 
thanks for the extra pair and for your nice 
selection. I will return your basket one day 
this week, will take bill of lading for same 
from express agent and forward to you date 
I return same. I will send you an order for 
12 pairs more about the 25th of this month. 
I want to order a small shipment each month 
until I get about 100 pairs of breeders. — 
G. W. T., Louisiana. 

PERFECTLY MATED IN WEST VIRGINIA. 

I write to tell you how well my pigeons are 
d jing. I am very well pleased with them 
as I believe they were perfectly mated and 
went right to work after they were in the loft 
not more than a week. — J. N. M., West 
Virginia. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

221 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



EVERY PAIR AT WORK IN DOUBLE- 
QUICK TIME. BUILDING UP A PLANT. 

I think a few lines to you is my duty. I 
expected to be at your office and plant before 
now. My young son got struck by a trolley 
car about the time 1 was going to go to 
Boston, and just escaped very serious results, 
so I have stayed pretty close at home, but 
have a vacation in July and will call on you 
then. 

About the birds, they are doing fine. 
They went to work at once and some of them 
are now on their third lot of eggs. They held 
their matings, every pair. I feel very much 
encouraged and appreciate your fair and 
honest business principles. You will receive 
orders from us in the future as we are going 
to build up quite a plant. — H. I. L., Massa- 
chusetts. 






SQUABS THREE WEEKS OLD. 

BRANCHING OUT FROM A SMALL 
BEGINNING AFTER SUCCESSFUL EXPERI- 
ENCE WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 
IN UTAH. I have dscided to go into the 
squab business on a large scale and when my 
business interests are cared for will move to 
Salt Lake City where I hope to work up a 
good business The birds purchased from 
you have been very satisfactory in every 
particular and my business in the future will 
be done direct with your good company. My 
health is poor through confinement and I am 
determined to try squab raising for the 
purpose of making a success and money. — 
W. B., Utah. 

SQUABS AS A SIDE LINE. Please send 
me two dozen wood-fibre nestbowls by 
express. The birds I received from you. 
April 1 are all working satisfactorily (Ms y 
13, 1907). I do this as a side issue. I woik 
in the factory all day and take care of my 
pigeons nights and mornings, and find it very 
pleasant work. — E. D. D., Massachusetts. 



TEN PAIRS OF SQUABS A YEAR FROM 
ONE PAIR. MARKET BROADENING AND 
DEMAND INCREASING. The pigeons that 
I bought from you are doing nicely. Most 
of them seem to be in good condition and 
keep steadily at work. One pair raised ten 
pairs of squabs a year and there are others 
that almost equal them. I began last fall to 
save those from the best breedeis. I had 
to ke?p them in the house with the older 
birds oecause I had nowhere else for them 
to stay. They disturbed the pigeons through 
the winter, but they are mating and getting 
to work now. 

I sell all the squabs I can raise to one of the 
local marketmen. _ At first there was no sale 
for them except in summer when wealthy 
people from the larger cities are sojourning 
here, but he bought all I had last winter. (See 
note below.) 

When ready for market they weigh from 
two pounds to two and one-half pounds a pair. 
They are white and fat and the dealer has 
complimented me a number of times about 
them. 

I find the business very interesting and 
would like to engage in it more extensively 
if_ I could get more time to devote to the 
birds, but it is impossible to do so at present. 
— Miss M. D., Connecticut. 

Note. The squab market has broadened 
tremendously since we first began advertising 
in the high class periodicals advising people 
to eat squabs as well as raise them. This 
habit of eating squabs has a steady hold all 
the year round on thousands of families who 
ten years ago did not know what a squab 
was. This demand is increasing every year. 
In spite of the steady growth in production 
of squabs, the prices are as high, and in many 
cases, higher than ten years ago. 

DELAWARE MAN FINDS IN OCTOBER, 
1907, THAT NEW YORK MARKETS ARE 
HOLDING GOOD. PRICES ARE LIKELY 
TO GO HIGHER. I received your Manual 
yesterday and am very much pleased with it 
and stayed up until 1 .30 last night reading it. 
I believe that if I follow your instructions 
and make up my mind to make a success of 
it, I will be able to do it. I knew a little 
about pigeons before, as my brother and I 
kept a flock of common pigeons when we 
lived in Long Island City, but had to move 
to New York City and had to do away with 
them. 

I have a few mongrels on hand now and 
am experimenting a little, but as soon as able 
will send you an order. It will not be very 
large, but if your stock is as good as repre- 
sented (like your Manual) it will be all right. 

I have written to New York markets for 
prices and find they are still hoHing up good 
and I believe next year they will go higher. 
Hoping you the best of success. — N. H. C, 
Delaware. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

222 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



OTHER HOMERS HAVE NOT THE 
QUALITY OF PLYMOUTH ROCK. SQUABS 
WEIGH FIFTEEN OUNCES, FEATHERS 
OFF. On December 22, 1906, I bought three 
pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers from 
you, and since then have had considerable 
luck with them. They are the best pigeons 
for breeding as well as for fancy I have v?t 
seen. I've seen other Homers similar i' 
those I have but they have not the quaut / 
of the Plymouth Rock. They weigh a ; ' oe 
age of four weeks on an average 15 ouni'-s, 
dressed, and are the finest pigeons for eating 
purposes that can be had. When I received 
the pigeons I knew but very little about them; 
but after following your Manual carefully I 
found results as stated, and will say it is 
worth double the amount I paid for it. I also 
made a feeder as shown in your Manual and 
think it is the proper thing for pigeons as 
there is but very little waste in feed. Out of 
the three old pairs I raised 28 squabs, losing 
but very few during the winter. I now have 
six pairs left which I am going to keep for 
breeders. The others I have been selling to 
friends here right along. I get from 50 to 
75 cents a pair at the age of two months. I 
now (September, 1907) have a larger and 
better place for them and find they are breed- 
ing a little better. They require but little 
care and are a great pleasure for pastime. — 
E. W., Missouri. 

NINE HATCHES IN TEN MONTHS IN 
BRITISH COLUMBIA. WOMAN HAS NOT 
LOST A BIRD, OR HAD ONE SICK. Please 
find enclosed the sum of $2.90 postal note'" 
for which send me three dozen of your wood- 
fibre nestbowls by Dominion Express Co. 
Also if you would send me your price list I 
should be greatly obliged. I am quite well 
satisfied that your pigeons are all that you 
claim for them as to breeding qualities. I 
have one pair of the eight you sent me last 
May which have had nine hatches in ten 
months, and the others were never far 
behind them, and now I have quite a number 
of the young ones mated up and raising 
young. For a fine appearance I do not think 
there is anything in pigeons could beat them. 
Have followed the directions in your book 
and I have not lost one bird or had one sick. 
I quite expected to have sent you an order 
for more breeders before now, but I have had 
my husband sick a great deal this winter 
and funds would not permit of it, but I hope 
to send you one before long. — Mrs. A. O., 
British Columbia. 

EVERY PAIR HAS EITHER EGGS OR 
SQUABS IN CALIFORNIA. I am more than 
pleased with the way my birds are turning 
out the squabs and intend placing an order 
for more breeding stock soon. Every pair 
has either eggs or squabs and some have both. 
— I. L. T., California. 



EARNING POWER OF SMALL FLOCK 
INCREASING AT NO EXPENSE. We re- 
ceived oar birds March 24, 1907. We had 
25 pairs. They started to work in about 
three weeks and we had the first squabs 
about the 10th of May. 

We have now (November 7, 1907) 120 
young birds, and of these young birds we 
have five pairs that are working. Two pairs 
have already had young ones. Our entire 
expense for feed to date has been $36.52. 

Our expense for fitting up has been $140, 
not including price of birds. We figure that 
we have not made any money this year, and 
still we have not lost any, and think with 
more birds and a better knowledge of the 
business there would be good money in it. — 
F. E. B., Connecticut. 




SQUABS TWELVE DAYS OLD. 

POSTMASTER'S GOOD PROGRESS IN 
TWELVE MONTHS. I felt like it was my 

duty to writeyou'a few lines. Just one year 
ago to day since I received my birds from 
you, seven pairs Plymouth Rock Homers. 
I now have IS squabs, and 40 birds that can 
fly around in the pen. That makes 58 in all. 
I think that is doing remarkably wed for 12 
months' time. I am also trying to raise 
poultry. I have a fine place here for that 
purpose and thought that I could attend to 
that between times. I am postmaster here. 
After I get started and there is good money 
in it, I will sell out -my store and do nothing 
else but raise squabs and poultry. — F. L. H., 
Illinois. 

USED GRAPE-VINE STICKS FOR NEST- 
ING MATERIAL. The pigeons bought are 
doing well. The flying pen is covered with 
grape vines. I neglected to put in any 
nesting material. All the pigeons have 
squabs, so they used great grapevine sticks, 
some as large as my finger. — W. E., Massa- 
chusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

223 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



STRONG MATINGS LAST TO THE STATE 
OF WASHINGTON AND SEVEN PAIRS OUT 
OF FOURTEEN HAVE EGGS WITHIN TWO 
WEEKS, REST DRIVING. Received youi 
shipment of 14 pairs of Homers about two 
weeks ago. There are seven pairs of them 
on eggs today and the rest are all driving. 
They were all in first-class condition except 
one cock, which seemed to have had his neck 
hurt, as he could not hold his head up nor 
eat anything, and he died. Thank you for 
your promptness and the two pairs free. — 
H. G. M., State of Washington. 

VERY SUCCESSFUL WISHES TO BUY 
MORE. Could you tell us of a place where 
we could sell our pigeon manure? We have 
some four or five bushels. We have been 
very successful with our Homers. Starting 
with 12, we now have about 60 or 70. We 
want to buy some more breeders. — G. P., 
Missouri. 




SQUABS A FEW DAYS OLD. 

KENTUCKY WOMAN'S SUCCESS WITH 
FAST-BREEDING PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 

About 18 months ago we purchased from you 
six pairs of vour Extra mated Homers, each 
pair a different color. These birds have done 
extra r 3od work for us and have been more 
than satisfactory in every way. We have on 
hand now about 50 mated birds and about 
100 youngsters; some of which ought soon to 
mate. The birds are all in good condition, 
moulting, but in spite of that some are still 
at work.— Mrs. C. P. M., Kentucky. 

ALL MATED, QUICK IN GETTING TO 
WORK IN DISTANT TEXAS. The pigeons 
that I got from you last Thursday are getting 
along just fine. Two pairs have nests and 
as far as I can see they are all mated. The 
Extra hens, it took them just about a week, 
which is fine. The Wells Fargo would not 
ship the crate celled on delivery, so I paid 
them ten cents for shipping. I am well 
Pleased with the birds. — G. J. W., Texas. 



SQUABS TWICE AS LARGE AS THOSE 
FROM HOMERS FROM ORDINARY 
SOURCES. My birds purchased of you have 
been doing splendidly, under rather adverse 
circumstances because of the lack of care 
occasioned by my constant absence from, 
home. Since entering into the business, I 
have taken special note of different pens in 
vaiicus parts of the State, of pigeons pur- 
ebssc-d elsewhere, and find to my entire 
satisfaction that none are as fine or finer than 
my birds. I have been unable to keep an 
exact tab on the rate at which they breed 
but I notice that certain pairs exceed others 
in this capacity and have been exceedingly 
satisfactory. 

As to size of squabs, I can best tell you in 
the words of one of my customers upon her 
first purchase : ' Why, Mr. Cantey, I never 
saw such large, fat things in my life. I had 
to stuff and bake them, instead of broiling. 
They are twice as large as any I have been 
getting elsewhere. I wouldn't mind if they 
were smaller." This is her unvarnished 
statement. I will send you a photograph of 
my pen in a few days. — H. C, South Carolina. 

OUR MATED PAIRS GO RIGHT TO WORK 

IN KANSAS. I have delayed writing in order 
to see how the birds were going to turn out. 
Can say that I am very much pleased with 
them. They were delayed in Junction City 
from Saturday until Monday, but_ arrived 
in good shape. One male had its eyes 
pecked until it couldn't see, but I took it out 
and bathed the swelling and it was all O.K. 
in a few days. I have four eggs and three 
more nests are being built, so you see they 
are going right to work. I have them so 
tame that I can hardly keep from stepping 
on them when I go into the house. I will 
probably want more the first of the year and 
if I do I will certainly order from you. — 
C. E. T., Kansas. 

VIRGINIA CUSTOMER A STEADY 
BUYER I enclose check for ten pairs blue 
and blue checker breeding pigeons. Ship per 
Adams Express to me. I intend to order in 
lots until I have 300 pairs. My old birds 
are doing well. I now have 18 pairs including 
squabs. — H. T. I., Virginia. (This customer's 
first purchase was eight pairs, shipped in 
June, 1907. At this writing, November. 
1907, he has sent in four more orders. His 
wife gave him a birthday surprise by ordering 
20 pairs which we shipped so that they 
reached him on his anniversary.) 

NO SUBSTITUTES WANTED, BUT SOME- 
THING JUST AS GOOD. I want to make 
another order by the 25th of this month 
(October, 1907). The last pigeons you 
shipped me were beauties and I would like 
to have some more just as good. — C. O., 
Alabama. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMORS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAf COMPANY 

224 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



BIRDS WELL-MATED, WENT TO WORK 
AT ONCE. ONE OF HER SQUABS 

WEIGHED ONE AND ONE-HALF POUNDS. 
HER HOUSE WAS ON THE GROUND AND 
RATS GOT AT THE SQUABS. I bought my 
first pigeons of you and put them in my 
house on March 21, 1907. They were in fine 
shape and eyery one thought them the 
handsomest birds they had ever seen. I had 
25 pairs. I think my first squab hatched 
April 21, and about all the birds were at 
work then, I think. I had my first two 
squabs on my own table and one of them 
wne l all dressed ready for baking weighed 
one pound and a half. Can any one beat 
that? I have not kept account of the 
number I have sold, but could have made 
a gojd thing of it if the rats had not got in. 
I sell tbem here in Scituate to the butcher 
for 20 cents apiece. While I was away this 
summer the one that took care of my birds 
for me sold a number of pairs of squabs to 
breed from for 50 cents a pair. I shall sell 
no more at that price. I have followed your 
Manual as nearly as I could in regard to 
feeding the birds and find my birds are big 
and fat and I have not had one sick one 
among them all. Neither have I been 
troubled with lice. When I came home this 
September I took account of stock and found 
that I had just 16 pairs of birds left. You 
see the rats did us great harm, but we had the 
house raised and now I am sending for ten 
pairs more of the Extra Homers and hope 
to make a good thing of the squab business 
after this. I shall keep an exact account of 
all my birds. There are a number of people 
around here that keep pigeons, but I think 
mine are the best birds of them all. Those 
that see mine want to have birds of the same 
kind. I think you will have some orders soon 
if you have not done so already from some 
that have seen mine and want birds like 
them. I got my birds to make money with 
and I am going to do it if it is to be done. 
And I am sure it is. I think your Manual is 
a fine thing to have if one is going to do any- 
thing in the squab business. When I want 
to know anything about the business I 
always look in the Manual and I can most 
always find my answer. I should not want 
to get along without the book. 

Enclosed please find post-office money order 
for the ten pairs of Extra Homers and other 
goods I sent for. I wish to thank you for 
the extra pair of birds you so kindly offer to 
send. I hope to send for more birds before 
many months if these do well. I took a 
picture of my pen with some of the birds in 
it to-dav, and if good will send you one. — 
Mrs. J. H. H., Massachusetts. 

Note. Rats burrow in the dirt and raise 
their families in these holes. When the floor 
of the squab- house is on the ground, the rats 
breed out of sight and out of reach, then they 



get into the squab-house quickly. As we 
say in the Manual, the floor of the squab- 
house must be elevated two feet, then tnere 
will be no rats, for they will not start breeding 
in the open air under such a house. 

LOST ONLY ONE OLD BIRD AND ONE 
SQUAB IN FIVE MONTHS' BREEDING IN 
MISSISSIPPI. Please let me know what 
you will let me have about four pairs of first- 
class pigeons for. My pigeons are doing 
finely. I have 16 now (September, 1907), 
just twice the number I bought of you in 
April. I have lost one of the old ones and one 
of the squabs. I have enlarged my quarters 
and want to enlarge my flock somewhat. 
I have one pair setting and two pairs have 
just raised a pair each and are ready for 
business — C. A. Mississippi. 




NEST OF TOBACCO STEMS. 
Some birds build a neat, compact nest like the above, 
and like tobacco stems to work with. 



GENEROUS AND HONORABLE DEAL- 
INGS. 1 received to-day by mail a leg-band 
outfit complete, with which I am very much 
pleased, and wish to thank you very much 
for same. If at any time I can do anything 
for you, don't hesitate to acquaint me of it, 
as I would like to show my appreciation for 
your generous and honorable dealings with 
me. My pigeons are all doing finely and I 
have quite a bunch of fine young birds. 
Thanking you again for your kindness and 
extraordinary promptness. — W. G., New 
Jersey. 

SICK BIRD REPLACED. I received your 
postal today and was agreeably surprised to 
hear that you are willing to replace our sick 
bird. I hardly expected to receive such 
honest treatment. It is a relief to find an 
honest man these days. That bird we wish 
to replace is a hen. All the other birds 
are getting along finely. — FA., Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

22r, 



1907 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



1908 



RAPID BREEDING. CONTENTED MIND 
AND A CLEAR RECOMMENDATION FOR 
PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. This is the 
first time I have had occasion to write you a 
for a year, so here it is briefly. Being a 
business man myself, I know the value of 
time. I put 21 pairs Plymouth Rock Homers 
in loft August 6, 1906. Have sold and eaten 
ten and one-half dozen squabs. Have on 
hand to-day, October 8, 1907, 80 pairs mated 
breeders and near the end of the moulting 
season. I have about a dozen not ready for 
market and about a dozen pairs of eggs, 
divided between two lofts, 40 pairs in each 
and outside of fear of rats. I have a contented 
mind and a clear recommend for Plymouth 
Rock Homers.— W. T. P., Ohio. 








RAISED FROM PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. 
In sending the above picture he writes: "The 
parents I got from you. I refused ten dollars a pair 
for one pair this winter. I have seen several large 
squab ranches in Delaware but on all of them I never 
saw any birds that could throw such birds as those 
sold by you." 

MONTANA MAN LIKES OUR STYLE OF 
DOING BUSINESS. Received your notice 
of shipment of birds yesterday (Sunday 29) 
and received the four pairs of fine Extra 
Homers to-day (30th) all in good shape. 
They are all fine birds and we are much 
pleased with them. It was very kind and 
generous of you people to send an extra pair 
free of charge, and also drinker and bowls 
as we did not expect either. If this our first 
•venture proves successful, you can rest 
assured you shall hear from us again. I like 
your style of doing business. — H. S. C, 
Montana. 

A TREAT TO BE TREATED WELL. The 

eleven pairs of birds (second order) arrived 
here yesterday and all in first-class condition. 
I shall place another order shortly, as I have 
to complete the buildings, and I am highly 
pleased at the manner your firm does business. 
It is a treat to know that one's order is filled 
satisfactorily. — J. N., Virginia. 



SQUABS SOLD TO HOTEL FOR FIFTY 
CENTS A PAIR IN KENTUCKY. I received 
your shipment of six pairs of Extra Homers, 
all in good condition; tnank you for the Extra 
hen. This was the finest lot of Homers I ever 
saw in size and plumage, wnicn is so uniform 
that it is hard to tell one from the other. I 
will send for another order some time next 
month. I sold three pairs of squabs this 
morning at 50 cents per pair to the hotel, 
and they say that my squabs are fine. (Later.) 
Find enclosed money order for which send me 
six pairs of your Extra nest-mated Homers, 
checkered and uniform in plumage. Every 
pair I have are working and some have two 
nests; one has three young squabs, which I 
think is unusual. — A. H., Kentucky. 

FIVE YEARS OF SUCCESS BY A NEW 
YORK STATE WOMAN. In October of 
1902 i sent you a check for $102.75 for 
pigeons. My pigeons have done very well. 

I ship to New York each week. I have just 
been reading your new squab book of 1907 
and would very much like the address of the 
firm you quote in appendix on page 141 and 
top first column page 143. Kindly send it 
to me thereby helping an old customer. 
Also kindly send me price of the new drmxing 
fountain spoken of in your Manual. I need 
three new ones fUid if satisfactory as to price 
will buy of you. — Miss O. W., New York. 

STOCK DOUBLED IN MOULTING SEA- 
SON. We have sent you to-day an order for 
grain for which we hope you will send as soon 
as possible. We bought stock from you 
several times, the first order sent in about 
June 1. Since that time (three months) the 
stock has doubled. We expect to place a 
large order in the spring along about March. 
We have about 75 birds in stock at present 
and started with a stock of 32. We shall 
have to have a few white birds in oar next 
order. What is the price of the white stock 
at present? Hoping you will send us the 
grain soon. — C. & F., Massachusetts. 

FAST NESTING BY MATED PAIRS IN 
TEXAS. My birds received August 10 and 
turned into pen; the 17th they were building 
their nests, making sever, days from arrival — 
all the birds in good shape. One did not fly 
oil perch for about two minutes, but after this 
time have nothing wrong with them. They 
have certainly proven all that you have recom- 
mended of them and as to nesting have beaten 
your figures quite a bit. Thanking you for 
your extra favor, will do more business as 
soon as I locate where I will make my squab 
farm. — G. R., Texas. 

MANUAL WORTH TEN DOLLARS. I am 

very much pleased with your Manual and 
think it worth $10. I shall send you an order 
for breeding stock some time this month, 
and grain and supplies, just as quick as I can 
get my house built. — T. H., Massachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

226 



APPENDIX E 



{Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice.) 




(Above pictures copyright, 1907, by Elmer C. Rice.) 



CARNEAUX. BIG, RED PIGEONS. 

The Carneau (pronounced car-no; plural Carneaux, pronounced the same) breed is new to this 
country. These pigeons are larger than the Homers and breed squabs weighing over a pound 
apiece. Plumage almost invariably copper red (rare specimens yellow) splashed a little with 
white; long body; broad breast; shape of head and body, and poise of body, different from 
other varieties; quiet disposition, not so timid as other breeds; meat of squabs uncommonly 
white; have no homing qualities; they may be allowed to fly, if desired, after a fortnight's con- 
finement, will stay around the place where they are fed, will not try to fly back to place where 
bred; feed their young steadily and well; breed nine to ten pairs of squabs per year; are housed, 
fed and handled same as Homers; strong, rugged build. The above pictures give a very good 
idea of this variety. A customer in Greensburg, Penn., writes: " This is the first time in my 
life to receive a circular picturing anything which gave a true picture; your picture is true to 
life in every detail. Everybody who sees my Carneaux is greatly taken with them. In every 
way they are doing splendidly." 

I spent several months in Europe in 1906, partly to study in their home the 
Carneaux pigeons, which then were just becoming known in America and 
were recommended in sensational terms. It was my purpose to see the 
evidence at first hand and find out if the claims were founded on fact. My 
investigations were favorable to this breed but I have waited two years to 
see how the birds would breed in our own lofts and in the lofts of customers. 
At this writing we have sold about a thousand pairs of Carneaux and orders 
for more are coming in fast. Previous to our importing this breed, there were 
about 600 pairs of Carneaux in America. 

In our long experience with pigeons, we have never known such a demand 

227 



228 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

as there is for Carneaux. Six dollars a pair may be obtained by anybody who 
has tne breeders for sale. Youngsters weaned and able to stand shipment 
sell for three dollars a pair, 'ihe squabs sell alive for ten dollars to twelve 
dollars a dozen. It costs no more to feed and raise these birds than other 
pigeons. Ihe selling price both for squabs and breeders being so much 
larger, that is why the profit is larger. On account of the tremendous demand 
for these birds for breeders, nobody is selling the squabs from them killed, but 
if they ever get so numerous that squabs are marketed from them, the price 
will be the very top notch. 

This breed has been developed by the pigeon breeders of Belgium. There 
are some Carneaux in France and Germany, but they are inferior in size and 
beauty to the Belgian birds, and few in number. 

They are not very plentiful in Belgium. We have made arrangements for 
the output of all the adult, perfect pairs of Carneaux the breeders of Belgium 
can furnish, fit for breeding, but so far they have not been able to furnish us 
more than 200 pairs a month, so scarce are the birds. We hope to get more 
from them. We have saved out 500 pairs Carneaux and are breeding them at 
our farm. We can supply Carneaux imported by us, or (in limited number) 
bred by us from birds of our importation. 

Why is the demand for Carneaux so much greater than the supply? Just 
this: They eat no more than Homers, but breed faster, and breed bigger 
squabs. 

In other words, they not only produce more squabs than the Homers, but 
the squabs bring at least one-third more money. The breeder making a 
profit from Homers will make more than double his profits with Carneaux. 

For years, the study has been to produce a pigeon larger than the Homer 
which would breed faster than the Homer. This has been accomplished in the 
Carneaux. We know it by our own investigation and actual breeding of this 
variety, and we know it by the experiences of our customers. 

The big breeds, all of which we have tried, such as Runts, Maltese, Italians 
(personally selected in Italy), breed big squabs, but they breed with exasperat- 
ing slowness. Crossed with Homers, the rate of breeding is improved, but 
the squabs are no larger than from our Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, so it is 
far better to breed the straight Extra Homers. 

The Carneaux breed squabs weighing a pound or more apiece and they 
breed nine pairs to ten pairs of squabs a year. For these two reasons, we 
believe that the Carneaux will displace the Homers in time. It will take 
many years because the Homers have a strong hold now and the Carneaux are 
scarce. Nevertheless, the cash returns from squabs weighing 12 pounds and 
14 pounds to the dozen give a great profit to the breeder, and profits are what 
all squab breeders are after. 

Any one who has both Homers and Carneaux can get in a year from each 
pair of Carneaux 15 or more pairs of squabs. Theoretically this is impossible 
for any pigeons. However, the Carneaux have help from the Homers. Just 
how this done is fully explained by us at the end of this article in the para- 
graph headed, " How to Breed Fifteen Pairs of Squabs from One Pair of Car- 
neaux in One Year." . . . , , , „ , 

One of our customers, a Southern gentleman, visited our farm in the tall of 

1906 He liked the looks of the Carneaux and on returning home later sent 
for three pairs, which we shipped him December 26, 1906. On February 13, 

1907 he wrote us askine how many pairs we could give him. He took all we 
could then supply at $6.00 a pair, giving the following endorsement of his first 



APPENDIX E 229 

purchase: " The three pairs I got December 28- have raised six squabs and 
are setting again (February 20), and I have not had them 60 days yet. So 
far they beat the Homers." Under date of April 29, he wrote us. "I have 
now, in my lofts, between 800 and 900 birds. Have Maltese, Mondaines, 
Carneaux and Homers, but the Carneau is the favorite bird with every- 
body that sees them. Have nearly 100 of these now and they are very rapid 
breeders, raising squabs that weigh from one to one and one-half pounds each. 
Have not sold any yet, but have enough orders on hand for them, at $6.00 a 
pair, to take all that I can raise for some time to come. Think at the present 
rate I can get eight to ten pairs a year from them." Under date of December 
13, 1907, he wrote us as follows: " I have now something over 100 pairs of 
Carneaux. Have sold a few pairs and could have sold many more, but 
wanted my stock to accumulate and get as many breeders on hand as pos- 
sible. They are the best birds for squab raising that I have ever seen, and I 
believe I have seen them all. They breed faster, eat less, are hardier, better 
setters and feeders, and gentler than any of the other breeds, and for beauty 
they are unsurpassed. I have all told now about 3000 birds in my lofts. 
Have been very successful with my plant so far. May want some more 
Carneaux from you later on." 

A customer in Missouri bought four pairs of Carneaux and liked them well 
enough to buy six more pairs three months later, saying: " I am keeping an 
accurate record, which promises to be something startling for the year. Two 
pairs went to work (laid eggs) within 10 days. The third pair went to work in 
26 days. The fourth hen was not so well along in the moult and did not lay . 
until November 8. The average weight of squabs at four weeks old has been 
17.6 ounces, weighed without crops filled with feed. The four pairs have 
made nine nests in lees than 90 days, or a total average production of better 
than nine pairs a year. The actual average production is better than this, of 
course, as it wouldn't be fair to count an average until all birds are at work. 
I have found them to be all that is desirable in a pigeon. They are good 
feeders and do not use more feed than the Homers." 

In November, 1907, we shipped 21 pairs of our Carneaux to a Philadelphia 
breeder, who replied: " To say I am pleased, these words do not express it. 
They are the finest lot of birds I have seen anywhere. My friend, who 
imported 25 pairs of Carneaux some time ago from Belgium, is very much 
disappointed with his Carneaux since he has seen the shipment you sent me. 
I shall endeavor to do all I can for the int^rsst of your house in the way of 
orders. I received the 21 pairs of Carneaux Saturday, 8.30 p.m. On Mon- 
day, at 10 o'clock in the morning, nine pairs of the birds sent had almost 
completed nine nests in their new home (in a little over one day). Tnis seems 
remarkable to me and I write you these few lines to get your opinion of the 
work they have done." 

Other breeders, not our customers, who have bred the Carneaux, praise 
them as follows : 

"They will easily average three squabs a year in excess of select Homers. 
A conservative estimate of squab weight under favorable conditions is 18 
ounces." 

" They average nearly a pair of squabs per month. For fancy and squab 
producing qualities, the Carneaux easily lead all." 

" No questicn about Carneaux. They are it." 

" I have only two pairs. Results are so satisfactory that I am clearing 
lofts to devote exclusively to Carneaux." 



230 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

" The Carneaux boom has struck this country for fair." 

" The Carneaux exceed all others in point of squab producing, not only in 
numbers and weight, but also in the clarity of the skin, the palatableness of 
the flesh, and prolific nature." 

" The consensus of opinion seems to be that the Carneaux will produce 10 
pairs, or ^0 pounds of squabs per pair to the year, while some place the 
average higher. Few place it lower." 

" All I have read has been substantiated by my own personal experience. 
Their yearly yield is from 10 to 11 pairs of squabs." 

" My experience with Carneaux is limited to two years. They are great. 
The Carneaux will occupy the place of honor in loft and showroom. Ten 
pairs of squabs is the yield per year." 

" I have bred them two years. Carneaux are as superior to the Homer as 
the Homer is to the common pigeon. It is the rule rather than the exception 
for the Carneaux to produce nine pairs of white-meated squabs a year which 
will average one pound each. My experience proves conclusively that they 
will produce twice as many pounds of squabs in a year as the ordinary birds 
now generally used as squab breeders, and one of the most conspicuous points 
in their favor is the fact that the cost of keeping them is no more." 



A few advertisers of pigeons who live inland, not in a seaport city, 
may " run down " imported pigeons, saying they are no good, culls, not 
acclimated, poor breeders, and so forth, ad nauseam. The reason why these 
soreheads fret so is, that it is impossible for them to import pigeons success- 
fully. To do this successfully, steadily, profitably, one must live on the sea- 
board, close to where the Antwerp steamers come, and must have a personal 
acquaintance with the officers of the steamships, and see them at every sail- 
ing, and pay them for their work in caring for the birds. The reason why 
those who decry imported pigeons do not sell them is simply that they cannot 
get them, or, if they think they can get them, they wish to sell something in 
which there is a greater profit. We have seen not much talk of this kind, in 
opposition to imported pigeons, but it will be indulged in more or less as the 
traffic in Carneaux increases. The trade calling for Carneaux in America 
must be supplied with imported birds or go without them, for nobody can 
ship day by day, steadily, Carneaux of his own raising. You should be sure 
and get Carneaux which have been in this country at least one or two months, 
and have got their sea-legs off, for it is our experience that the long voyage 
results in a goodly percentage of dead and injured birds, depending on the 
weather and the caretakers. 

That imported Carneaux go to work quickly is indicated by the letter of 
the Philadelphia gentleman above quoted, nine pairs out of 21 pairs having 
built nests within two days after delivery to him. 

Our trade in Carneaux is increasing every month and we expect to sell 
many thousand pairs in 1908 and 1909. We recommend them to our cus- 
tomers. We do not wish anybody to take our word for their excellence. 
Try them alongside of your Homers and form your own opinion. Anybody 
who buys Carneaux of us and is not perfectly satisfied with them, and that all 
we say here is true, after six months' trial, may exchange them for our Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers at the rate of three pairs of Homers for one pair of 
Carneaux. 



APPENDIX E 231 

HOW TO BREED FIFTEEN PAIRS OF SQUABS FROM ONE 
PAIR OF CARNEAUX IN ONE YEAR. 

(Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice). 

During the first eight months of the year, January to August, the 
Carneaux may be robbed of their eggs twice a month and they wil 1 . 
lay again about 10 days later. 

A pair of Carneaux build a nest, and the two eggs are laid. On 
the day they are laid ^or the second or third day, if the first day is not 
convenient for you) you take away the two eggs from the Carneaux 
nest and carry them in your hands to the pen where you have 
Homers breeding. You look around in the pen until you find a nest 
with Homer eggs. You throw these Homer eggs away, putting in 
their place the two Carneaux eggs. The Homers keep right on sit- 
ting and hatch out, not their own eggs, but the two Carneaux eggs, 
and raise the two Carneaux squabs. 

Meantime, the pair of Carneaux from which you took the eggs 
wish more eggs, and within 10 days to 14 days the hen lays again. 
Now, as you did at first, you take away these two eggs from the 
Carneaux and put them under Homers. 

Do not take away the third setting of eggs from the Carneaux. 
Let the eggs stay in the Carneaux nest and the Carneaux will hatch 
and raise them. 

For example, a Carneau hen lays two eggs June 1. Take them 
away and substitute them for the eggs in a Homer nest. The 
Carneau hen will lay again June 10 to June 15. Take the two eggs 
away and substitute them for the eggs in a Homer nest. The Car- 
neau hen will lay again June 25 to July 1 . This will give you three 
settings of eggs from one pair in 30 days. Let the Carneaux raise 
the third setting and then repeat the process. 

During the last four months of the year, take away the eggs only 
once and let the female Carneau set on the second pair of eggs. 

From 15 pairs to 18 pairs of squabs from one pair of Carneaux 
may be produced in one year by the above method. With Carneaux 
selling for six dollars a pair, of course it pays to use Homers to 
increase the supply of Carneaux. With ordinary success, in follow- 
ing this method, the capacity of a pair of Carneaux may be doubled. 

COMMENT ON ABOVE. 

We do not think this forcing method would have the slightest effect on the 
health of the Carneaux. Hens and ducks lay a great many more eggs than 



232 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

pigeons. It is not much strain on the female pigeon to lay four or six eggs 
a month instead of two. The strain of production comes from setting on the 
eggs day after day, not in laying the eggs, we should guess. 

Why not take away all the Carneaux eggs and hatch them under Homers, 
some may ask. We do not believe in this, as far too unnatural. The Car- 
neaux should be given an opportunity to raise the third setting, for that is 
what they are striving for. 

This method has been tested thoroughly with birds purchased from us and 
it works all right. There is nothing far-fetched about it. You simply take 
the eggs away and let Homers hatch them out. At the same time, simple as 
this plan is, it has never been published before, to our knowledge, nor has it 
ever been tried except by a few breeders of our acquaintance. It is not 
uncommon for breeders of fancy pigeons of poor feeding and raising qualities 
to pat their eggs under Homers, but no motive for doubling the squab pro- 
duction from certain pigeons has ever existed until today, when it is money 
in the breeder's pocket to turn out all the six-dollar pairs of Carneaux he can 
in the shortest space of time. 

In following the above directions the breeder should realize that the 
Carneaux eggs must replace Homer eggs laid within two days of the same 
time, otherwise the bird milk of the Homers will be too old and thick, and 
the young Carneaux cannot assimilate it and may die. 

(Later. January 1, 1909.) 

Another year of breeding and shipping the Carneaux has substantiated 
our opinion of them, and the orders from customers have been added proof. 
On page 229 we mention a Western customer who started with four pairs 
of our Carneaux, then added six pairs. He was so pleased with results that 
in 1908 he ordered 30 pairs more, then again 35 pairs, and finally in November, 
1908, an order for 150 pairs amounting to $900. No more comment con- 
cerning his opinion of our Carneaux is needed — his money tells an eloquent 
story. This customer is an experienced pigeon breeder. 

From the letters of other customers to whom we sold Carneaux in 1908, 
we make the following extracts. The fall letters are on file at our Boston 
office, where they will be produced at any time to satisfy anybody as to their 
genuineness : 

Enclosed find check for $30 for which please send me five pairs of your Carneaux birds. I 
bought one pair of you some time ago and am much pleased with them. 

Please ship me two more pairs of Carneaux as soon as possible. The other two pairs you 
shipped are doing nicely. 

The eight pairs of Carneaux received from you April 25 have behaved beautifully with the 
exception of one pair. Nine days from date of arrival one pair had a nest and two eggs. Today 
(May 26) I have four pairs of squabs and expect three more pairs the last of this week, 'ihey 
surely have followed President Roosevelt's prolific policy. I am greatly pleased and am be- 
coming interested in the possibilities of squab raising with the Carneaux. Regarding the 
pair that have not turned out right, I will ask your advice. The female (the smallest bird 
of all) laid two eggs in a bowl without any nesting material and left them to spend her time with 
her male partner in the flying pen. I will thank you in advance for any advice you can give 
regarding this negligent pair. 

I thought it might interest you to know how the Carneaux have done that I bought of you 
in 1907. In June, 1907. I bought of you two pairs, in September one pair, in December, 1907, 
one pair, and I now (December 17, 1908) have 21 pairs mated and working. I have 114 birds 
not yet mated, and have sold S44 worth of mated pairs and young not mated. Do you not think 
I have done well? I find the Carneaux a most charming bird, very tame, and they never leave the 



APPENDIX E 233 

nest when setting when you approach them. They feed their young fine, and raise squabs that 
weigh from 12 to 18 and 20 ounces at one month old. 1 have one pair of young mated last Jan- 
uary that I have been offered $10 for. 1 find much pleasure in mating up these birds, and I 
think I have got as good foundation stock as I could get anywhere. The Carneaux judge at the 
show told me that one of the hens purchased from you was as good a Carneau hen as he had ever 
seen. I have one young pair that have been breeding several months and they are averaging 
a pair of squabs a month, and have never lost a single squab. Their hatches are usually one or 
two davs inside of a month. My Carneaux are very fast breeders, and I find by mating rightly 
I can increase their speed in breeding. They are everlastingly at it, 1 have got so much at- 
tached to the Carneaux that if there was no money in raising them I still would want a good 
flock of them. What could you sell me 100 pairs for, and how soon could you deliver them to me ? 

The birds which you sent me on Monday arrived here Wednesday at 10 o'clock in good 
condition. The Carneaux are great and I wish to thank you for the extra Homer hen. It is 
a dandy. My other two pairs of mated Homers have eggs now and my first pair of Carneaux 
have young ones. I am delighted as your birds and dealings are first class. You can be. 
that I'll be writing for more as soon as possible. 

I have now over 150 pairs of Carneaux. Your birds (Carneaux) have done well. I am now 
shipping 20 dozen per week and getting $4 per dozen. If it would keep up that way all the 
year here (Florida) I would ask for no better business. I shall be in Boston later on in the year 
and will call on you. I much want to see your Carneaux. 

The Carneaux birds arrived in noble condition. We are very much pleased with them, and 
every one here that has seen them cannot get through talking about them. We certainly 
appreciate your promptness and methods in doing business and must say that you do more 
than you promise to. Will in a few days write you for more supplies that we will be in need 
of. Again thanking you for the way you have treated our order, we can give you our hearty 
support in any way that the buying public may demand of you, and you are at liberty to use 
this letter wherever it is of any value to you. 

We received the three pairs of Carneaux April 27. They were in good condition, only one 
seems a little dull, but I think it will be all right. They are the largest pigecns I ever saw and 
are all that you claim them to be. When we have room we want to get more from you. One of 
our neighbors is going to start raising pigeons and wants me to sell him my squabs. I had to 
refuse and told him I thought Mr. Rice would furnish him with all the birds he wants, so I give 
you his name. 

My Carneaux birds are doing fine, in fact, I am more than pleased with them. I have had 
ten settings and have just weighed a squab at one week old and it weighed a pound. We could 
hardly believe our eyes, but it is true. I am delighted with them. Any time I can help you in 
any way in regard to using my name you are welcome in regard to your Carneaux, as we think 
they are the only kind of pigeons to raise and we will get rid of all our Homers and raise only 
Carneaux. 

I have been so very busy with Carneaux, chickens, hens, etc., that I have found no time to 
write before. I think the birds are very handsome and on May 8, every pair (16) had nests 
and eggs. I expect they will begin to hatch the first young ones about May 14, tomorrow. 

I would like to ask you whether you have three pairs of Carneaux mated, as I am very much 
pleased with my first pair. They are all you claim them to be in size and have just finished 
building their nest. 

The Carneaux arrived all O.K. on the 12th. Yesterday four of them built nests and laid 
one egg each. I call this fast work. Accept my thanks for quality of birds. 

Some months ago I wrote you in regard to the pair of solid red Carneaux which I purchased 
of you last December to show at the Rochester Pigeon Show last January. The cock took first 
prize and the hen second prize. My Carneaux are doing fine and I find much in them that is 
very interesting. I have raised a fine lot of young Carneaux this year and they are all from 
your stock. My squab Homers are doing fine and I still have every one of the original 12 pairs 
I purchased of you November 9, 1904, and they are all working right along. 

I have received your Carneaux in fine shape, and they are as fine birds as I have. I am very 
much pleased with them. 

I wish to say that the four pairs of Carneaux my brother got of you last November have raised 
16 fine birds. 



234 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

I am more than pleased with the pair of Carneaux which I got from you and send another 
order for two more pairs. I have the finest Homers 1 have ever seen but they look very small 
beside the Carneaux and if the Carneaux breed well I will send for more orders. 

I am very much pleased with my Carneaux and will be glad to send you photographs as soon 
as 1 get some. I had the address of a man in this State who claims to be an importer and 
breeder of Carneaux and Homer pigeons. 1 wrote him for a price on red, and red and white 
birds, just in those words, and he said, yes, he had just what 1 wanted at $2.50 each, three for 
$6, and he would make a personal selection of the birds, which were second prize winners. 
But you ought to have seen the birds he sent me, not near as good as my own. I returned 
them to him, but he said they were just what I ordered and that 1 expected to get show birds 
under the pretence of ordering breeding birds, also he did not ship birds on approval at this 
time of year. He had the advantage as he held my money. He said show birds demanded a 
big price. He refused a price of $150 for one bird in his exhibit at State Fair. Now, I saw 
those Carneaux and they were no better than some of mine. One of the pairs I bought from 
you last Spring throw some elegant birds. As I am an amateur I suppose I must learn that all 
pigeon dealers are not white. I had no idea of showing my birds, but as this dealer seemed to 
be afraid I would, I think it would be a Rood idea to go in and show himthat " there are others." 
If I have as good luck next season as 1 have this year, I think I can do it. Three of the females 
are from this best pair I mentioned. All three pairs hatched seven pairs young, working right 
through the moult. 

The shipment of Carneaux arrived just a month ago and is very satisfactory. Nine of the 
ten pairs are mated, and seven have squabs. The birds arrived several days before the nappies, 
but they adapted themselves to circumstances. One pair nested in a grit box, another pair 
in the oyster-shell box and three pairs on the floor. The nest bowls arrived just in time to 
save the drinking fountain. 

The pair of Carneaux received in good shape, and am well pleased with them. Think they 
will soon be at work, have commenced to drive. Will want another pair in a few weeks. Every 
one that has seen them says they beat everything they have ever seen. 

The three pairs of Carneaux and seven pairs of Homers arrived here March 25. The Carneaux 
are very large, fine birds. There are several squab raisers here (California). One man has 
8000 birds and another has 5000, mostly Homers, but when they saw my Carneaux they nearly 
went wild. I am going to order more Carneaux in a few days but not until I see what they will 
do. I will clear my lofts of Homers as fast as I can and stock up with Carneaux if they prove 
to be even as good a breeder as the Homer. 

The Carneaux are doing fine. One pair went to setting within 24 hours after arrival. The 
other pair laid two eggs without building a nest so of course are not setting, but I believe they 
are building now as they tay indoors a great deal of the time. Am writing you this as I 
thought it might be of interest to you to know how your birds are doing that you sold. I 
brought the doctor with whom you have been correspond 'ng in regard to the Carneaux, around 
to see my birds and told him of the very good work they have done and he seemed very much 
pleased with them. What are 100 of these birds worth ? I believe in time they will take the 
place of the Homers. 

The three pairs of Extra Homers and three pairs Carneaux arrived this morning in fine condi- 
tion, and are a fine lot of birds. I am well pleased with them They seem to be in a hurry to 
get to work, as one of the Carneaux laid this afternoon. _ I think all of them will be on eggs in 
a few days. Will want more breeders later, when you will hear from me. Thank you for send- 
ing me such good birds. 

As I have promised you, this lady has ordered me to get more Carneaux for her. She is very 
proud of the five pairs you sold her. She has got the Carneaux fever for fair. So here you are, 
kindly have ready for next Saturday afternoon, we will call for them, five pairs of your best 
Carneaux. Kindly note, she will want more in about two weeks. She has given me the money 
already, so it is up to you to do your best. In her name I thank you. I will call next Saturday 
%bout 1 p.m. for them if you can get them ready. 

Please advise me if the Carneaux pigeons purchased from you November 23 are imported 
birds, or are they bred by you from the imported stock. The birds are doing excellent work. 
I purchased 20 pairs and at this writing have 20 nests. Every bird in the loft has eggs or squabs, 
of the lot purchased. 20 pairs. 

I am well pleased with the pair of Carneaux which arrived Saturday in good condition. 
Please send me three more pairs of same on the same conditions, for which I enclose herewith $18. 



APPENDIX E 235 

I thank you for your compliments regarding my success at recent leading shows with my 
Carneaux. Three years ago in one of my consignments of pigeons from abroad, I received 
a few pairs of Carneaux. I kept them and bred several fine specimens. I am not a regular 
pigeon dealer. 1 am a fancier more. I work every day at my trade. Pigeons with me are a 
side issue. I have bought of you since December last over $148 of Carneaux, all for a few 
customers. Now these exhibitions in different cities I made have created a furore and everybody 
is after me for Carneaux. One party says, " A man like you that exhibits such fine Carneaux 
must have some fine ones at your lofts. I want your Carneaux," etc. I will send you an order 
for five pairs and I can guarantee you more orders next week. 

I received my last order of pigeons two or three days ago: which was my third order from 
you. The Homers were very fine and the Carneaux were the finest pigeons I have ever seen. 
They are simply grand and if I could not get anv more like them I would not take one hundred 
dollars for them. They were driving the hens and feeding in one minute after I turned them 
out. They all have nests now. You have treated me very nicely and \ like to do business 
with you. You have always treated me right. I had a letter from a pigeon man yesterday, 
about 150 miles from here, but I did not know how they would use me and so I give my order 
to you. Enclosed find check for $50 for which please send me three pairs of your very best 
Carneaux, and the rest, a nice assortment of best Homers. (This is the fourth order from this 
customer.) 

The eight pairs of Carneaux which you sent me last Friday arrived Saturday morning at 9.30, 
making seven and one-half hours better time than the shipment of Homers you made me on 
November 1 last. They are certainly beautiful birds. I tried putting each pair in mating 
coops immediately on their arrival, having previously removed the partitions, and by four 
o clock that afternoon six pairs had mated. The other two pairs mated the following morning. 

I was going to go to see you last Saturday but it was so cold I postponed it. Kindly fill 
my order for five pairs of Carneaux. All Carneaux bought of you are entirely satisfactory. 
It is a pleasure to deal with you. I will have the money ready when I call for them. Kindly 
advise when you can fill my order. 

The Carneaux were in fine shape and I am well pleased with them. I am enclosing money 
order for $12 for which pie se ship, at once as per my other order, two pairs more of mated 
Carneaux. Please give the filling of this order careful attention, as it means a great deal to me. 
If these birds do as well as I hope they will, I shall place an order for about 50 or 75 pairs in 
the near future. 

I am in receipt of the four pairs of Carneaux which were shipped on June 1. The birds are 
doing nicely, all four pairs having nested and laid. 

The Carneaux came to hand last Tuesday and to say I am pleased with them is putting it 
entirely too mild. They are the prettiest, biggest things in the pigeon line I ever saw. Every one 
that sees them says that they are stunners, they are the talk of the town. _ Will do as you 
suggest about the plan and photo of the house I built for less than $20, and it is a dandy for 
this climate, too. If you wish to refer any one to me or have me show any one the Carneaux, 
just say so and I will be only too glad to do it. Thank you for the prompt and careful attention 
given my order. 

Our two crates of birds arrived two weeks ago. We thank you for the fine lot you sent. 
They are certainly as fine as any one can hope cij nossess. We have the room now for 700 or 
800 pairs and we intend to fill this up with Plymoutr Rock Extra Homers and Carneaux. We 
are " stuck " on the Carneaux but they are nearly out of our reach. Please give us all the 
information you can about selling squabs. Can we reach New York? _ We_ understand that 
we can. We raise more squabs in the winter than we can easily handle in this city. We note 
the markets in the Packer but thev are always just as you say, below the actual market 
prices. Our birds will win all the prizes at the County Fair again this year. 

The Carneaux arrived Monday morning and were O.K. and to say I am pleased with them 
does not express it, as I think the pair of yellows are the best I ever saw. I was surprised to 
find the extra hen, as I did not expect you to maKe good the loss of the other one. I thank 
you very much for the nice way you have treated me in our dealings, and hope to do more 
business with you later. 

In regard to our conversation of last week about the Carneaux, will state that I like the birds 
much better than the Homers, as both squab raisers and show birds. Every one who hasseen 
my birds says they are the largest and finest birds they ever saw. From the one pair of 
Carneaux I purchased of you in March, 1908, I have raised five and lost three. They laid in 



236 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 




CARNEAU SQUAB COMPARED WITH HOMER SQUAB. 

The Plymouth Rock Carneau squab at the left of the above photograph weighs 17J^ ounces. The Homer squab 
alongside at the right weighs twelve ounces. 

about three weeks after arriving here, so you see they have been at work nearly all the time 
and are now setting. I have entered five of them at our County Fair, New York, and expect 
to capture all the prizes as I have no competition and had to enter them in a special class. I 
have a pair of yellow birds which I prize highly. The Carneaux should make a great showing 
in the squab industry. 

I received your special offer on your Plymouth Rock Homers, but I don't see any reference 
to your Carneaux. I have made up my mind to discard all birds except the Carneaux. I 
have had one pair from you and I am well satisfied. Now what are your lowest terms, say for 
five or ten pairs, express paid to my address? Mr. Rice, I want them in time so I can show 
them at our fair in September. So far I am the only one in Colorado who has a pair of Carneaux, 
and I believe I could get quite a few orders for you if I put good birds on exhibition. 

The three pairs of Carneaux are doing well. The squabs are very large. One pair of squabs 
especially, I feel sure, will weigh a pound and a quarter each at about a month old. 

We purchased from you Homers about six months ago and Carneaux about three months ago. 
Both are satisfactory and we like the work very much. We are going to build a house for them 
this fall so as to make room for more stock. 

The pigeons you shipped me last week arrived this morning in fairly good condition, con- 
sidering the long distance they travelled. The Carneaux were extra lively. _ They mated in 
less than an hour after being taken from the crate. I am more than pleased with the Carneaux 
and think they are the finest birds I ever saw and shall take great pride in showing them to 
my friends. 

I have 50 pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers which we bought of you. They are doing all right 
but I like the Carneaux better. The worst thing about the business is the killing part. If I 



APPENDIX E 237 

could get around that part I would enjoy it better. That is the reason I would like to get started 
with the Carneaux. 

The Carneaux are beyond my expectations. I have bred all kinds of pigeons, but have never 
seen such breeders in my life. I have bred youngsters from them weighing 19% ounces at 20 
days old. Can you beat that? Enclosed please find order for six dozen nest bowls. 

I suppose you may be interested to hear about the breeders you sent me last spring. The 
two pairs of Carneaux are doing fine. They have hatched five pairs Of squabs since. 

The Carneaux I bought from you are coming along finely now. I have had luck with two 
or three sittings and now have ten young pigeons from two pairs. 

I bought four pairs of Carneaux of you last November and now (October) have 37 birds. 

I am going to order some more Carneaux sure. As far as I have seen they are the bird. My 
neighbors here say that mine look more like turkeys than pigeons. 

Some time ago I ordered of you five pairs of Plymouth Rock Carneaux at $6 per pair and am 
very much pleased with same. I am particularly interested in the building up in point of weight 
in this particular bird. Hence I beg to be advised whether you would select shipment of extra- 
ordinary size at increased price and if so, extent of increased size or weight as compared with 
the general run of this bird, and at what cost? (Later we received an order from this customer 
for five pairs more.) 

The Carneaux were purchased of you some time in December last, I think, first three pairs. 
Then later my partner went over and purchased of you three pairs more, making six pairs of im- 
ported birds purchased of you. The balance are the offspring of the original six pairs. I shall 
have no hesitancy in recommending the Carneaux to any who may inquire. They have proved 
more prolific than the Homers and much heavier birds. 

The Carneaux proved well. Enclosed find $6 for another pair. We are slowly selling off our 
Homers. (This customer has bred Homers for many years.) 

We started with six pairs of your Carneaux shipped March 26, 1908. We have divided our 
loft into two pens, one for the breeders and one for the young. At this time, October 23, we have, 
forty birds altogether, which we consider a good increase. The young birds are beginning to 
mate. Our flock worked right through the moulting season. We enjoy the birds and the work 
among them very much. (Later — November 23.) We now have forty-five Carneaux all told 
and eight pairs at work. 

CARNEAUX AND HOMERS NOT IN THE SAME PEN 

As a rule, each breed of pigeons should be kept in a pen separate from other 
breeds. If different breeds are kept in the same pen, the breeds may mix, no 
matter how carefully the pairs are mated, and of course the young are liable 
to mix. There is nothing about a Homer pigeon which keeps it true to its 
own species. If Fantails or any other fancy breeds of pigeons are kept in the 
same pen with Homers, there is nothing about the Homer which would lead 
it to be true to its own species. He or she is just as liable to seek a different 
breed for a mate. As to the two kinds we sell, the Homers and the Carneaux, 
if they were kept in the same pen, it is quite possible that an attachment for 
a Carneau cock or hen might form with a Homer of the opposite sex. So if 
you are breeding both the Carneaux and the Homers for the pure stock you 
should keep them separate. 

IMPORTANCE OF PLYMOUTH ROCK HEALTH GRIT 

Since reducing the price of Plymouth Rock health grit to two dollars for two 
hundred pounds the sales have greatly increased. Breeders have found it 
economy to feed it on account of the saving in grain and the increased output of 
better squabs. Remember, we do not sell less than two hundred pounds of this 
grit. Price for two hundred pounds, two dollars. The old price was four dol- 
lars. Read this letter from Mr. Cameron, one of the best known breeders in 
the District of Columbia, showing the test he made with our grit, one pen of his 
pigeons getting it and the other pen getting none: 



238 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

HOW MY SQUABS INCREASED IN SIZE WHEN I FED PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HEALTH GRIT 

By S. T. Cameron, District of Columbia 
Eleven months ago I purchased from you eleven pairs of No. 1 Plymouth 
Rock Carneaux. I now have over one hundred birds and over thirty pairs 
working. Apropos of the Plymouth Rock health grit, I have to say that I have 
my birds separated into two pens, to one of which I have supplied the health 
grit. In the other, by reason of my supply having run short, I have not given 
the health grit for some months. I observe a very remarkable difference in 
the size of the squabs in the two pens, those in the pen having the health grit 
being much the larger, and as the birds have been handled exactly the same 
in every respect, except the health grit, I am forced to the conclusion that this 
has something to do with the improved size of the squabs. Enclosed find check 
for five dollars for five hundred pounds of Plymouth Rock health grit. 

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN GRITS. ARE YOU FEEDING THE RIGHT 

KIND? 

By Fred Armstrong, Illinois 
Enclosed find check for one thousand pounds of Plymouth Rock health grit. 
I have been using other grits but have not found any that gave the satisfaction 
yours does. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK GRIT IS CHEAPER THAN GRAIN. FEED IT FOR 

ECONOMY 

When our grit is fed, the squabs not only are larger, and there are more of 
them, but the grain bill is smaller. It is more economical to feed Plymouth 
Rock health grit at one cent a pound than grain at two and three cents a pound. 
Grain which you do feed goes farther and better along with our health grit. Our 
grit is the product of many years of experience and it is right. In view of the 
two letters from Mr. Cameron and Mr. Armstrong, it is the best economy to 
feed it. If you are not feeding it, you are missing a profit. Think this over. 
If you are not feeding it, tell us why. Let us talk it over. 

I WAS SCARED, MY PIGEONS ATE SO MUCH OF IT — PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HEALTH GRIT IS FOR USE, NOT FOR ORNAMENT 

By William Laub, Ohio 

Up to about three weeks ago I was using a grit that is advertised quite a bit, 
and it certainly went a long way. Then I bought two hundred pounds of Ply- 
mouth Rock health grit and became very much worried the first week for fear 
my pigeons would all get sick. They would be in the grit box from morning 
until night. I can also notice a saving in the feed they now consume. 

Pigeons which are fed on wholesome grain and plenty of Plymouth Rock health 
grit are never sick. A breeder finds by examination that very few sick birds 
have anything like a proper amount of grit in their gizzards, many of them indeed 
being entirely without it. The effect on a bird of going without grit is the same 
that swallowing food whole has on humans. The body demands nourishment 
and there is a continuous craving for food, because what is eaten ferments instead 
of digesting. The bird is unable to rid himself of the fermented food rapidly 
enough to prevent self -poisoning. 



APPENDIX F 



It is important in squab raising to know your birds. A great help in distin- 
guishing them is the double-number colored leg-band. The idea of two numbers 
on a leg-band in duplicate, so that no matter how the pigeon stands, the eye 
of the observer will see one of the numbers, was the invention of Elmer C. Rice. 
It was not patented and its free use by everybody has done much to advance 
pigeons. Some men and women have the faculty of telling pigeons apart by 
body signs just as horsemen tell horses. But to others pigeons look very much 
alike, just as horses look alike. The double-number color band remedies this 
because it is visible without catching the pigeon. We sell the double-number 
band in twelve colors as follows: Black figures on white, red, cherry, pink, brick, 
blue, light blue, green, light green, yellow, light yellow and gray backgrounds. 
Big, bold figures. The numbers run from one to sixty. 

PRICES (Postage Paid) 

6 pairs, any numbers or colors $0.25 

12 pairs, any numbers or colors 50 

25 pairs, any numbers or colors 1 .00 

50 pairs, any numbers or colors 1.50 

100 pairs, any numbers or colors 3.00 

500 pairs, any numbers or colors 13.50 

1000 pairs, any numbers or colors 25.00 

Sample for two-cent stamp. Be sure when ordering to 
specify that you wish the double-number band, and tell us 
what numbers and colors you wish. Note that the numbers 
run to sixty only, because more than sixty pairs of breeders 
are seldom kept in one pen. From twenty-five to thirty pairs 
of breeders in one pen, and no more, is the best practice. 

MORE ABOUT HOW TO TELL SEX 

A good proportion of our letters, month after month and year after year, 
inquire how to tell the sex of pigeons. People ask us this question before they 
have read this Manual and after they have read the Manual. We should like 
to write this down to the remotest detail so that even a child could tell the sex 
of a pigeon by looking at it, but this is impossible. There is no language which 
can convey the secret of telling absolutely the sex of pigeons. You can tell 
only by watching them and by experience gained by this watching. You become 
more expert in determining the sex as you go along. There are no marks on 
either male or female by which you can distinguish them at any age. Some 
large male pigeons act the same as roosters do and can be told almost at a glance. 
On the other hand, some female pigeons are large and coarse, like a male bird, 
and the secret of their sex is disclosed only by their actions in conjunction with 
birds of the opposite sex. 

The birds we ship are banded cocks on right leg and hens on left leg. You 
must watch these birds and see how they act. By the location of the band 
you will know the sex and by their actions you will learn to connect what you 
see with the specified sex. Sometimes customers will write to us and state 
that they have raised birds and are puzzled about the sex of them. In 
that case you must watch their actions or you can turn such birds in with 

239 



240 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

some of our birds and watch their behavior in connection with our birds. 
You will know the sex of our birds by the bands on their legs, and when you 
have determined by the actions of your birds what the sex of them is, catch 
them and band them, putting a band on the right leg of the cock and a band 
on the left leg of the hen. It is impossible to band a squab four or five days 
old with a seamless band so as to designate the sex. You cannot tell the 
sex of a squab or young pigeon until it discloses by its actions at mating age, 
four or five months, what it is. If you put a seamless band on a young 
squab, the object is to show the age, not the sex. The best way for the 
business squab breeder is to put an open band on the leg of the squab, showing 
its age, by its date, and bearing a distinguishing number which you refer 
to in your records. You can put this band on either the right leg or the left 
leg of the squab. When the young bird grows up to mating age and you 
find out its sex, then change the band to either the right or left leg to suit 
the case. 

It is not a difficult matter to determine the sex of a pigeon by watching, 
for sooner or later you will see actions that will tell you. You must not be 
guided much by a little quarrelling which you sometimes see going on. Two 
hens will quarrel the same as two cocks. If two or three pigeons are ex- 
tremely puzzling to you, handle them in this manner: Take them out of 
the breeding pen and put each pigeon in a small coop or box in the dark and 
keep them there for two or three days, each pigeon in a separate box or coop. 
Feed and water them regularly, then take them out of their little coops and 
put them into mating coops with other birds. They will generally disclose 
their sex as they are anxious for companionship after being shut in so long. 
Another way to do this is to take two birds and put them into a mating 
coop, one on each side of the partition, and put a bag or other covering over 
the coop so that the place will be darkened for two or three days. Feed and 
water daily. Then take off the covering and take out the partition in the 
middle of the mating coop and watch the two birds as they come together. 

The beginner should familiarize himself with the billing, treading and 
driving as he sees the birds. We have had customers write us and declare 
that we had shipped them squabs because they had seen what they thought 
young birds taking nourishment from the older birds. What they really 
had seen was a male bird kissing or billing with a female bird, a matter 
entirely different. 

The male and female mates not only bill, tread and drive, but they nestle 
close at times, each running his or her bill through the feathers on the neck 
and head of the other. 

Pigeon breeding is an ancient hobby and pastime in England. An English 
writer, Dixon, years ago described their love affairs in choice words. It is 
a pretty sight, said Dixon, to see pigeons at liberty when " courting." They 
begin to go together in pairs, except while associated with the flock at feeding- 
times; and when they are resting on the roofs, or basking in the sun, they 
retire apart to a short distance for the purpose of courtship, and pay each 
other little kind attentions, such as nestling close, and mutually tickling 
the heads one of another. At last comes what is called " billing," which is 
in fact a kiss, a hearty and intense kiss. As soon as this takes place, the 
marriage is complete, and is forthwith consummated. The pair are now 
united, not necessarily for life, though usually so, but rather durante bene 
placito, so long as they continue to be satisfied with each other. If they are 



APPENDIX F 241 

Tumblers, they mount aloft and try which can tumble best; if they are 
Pouters, they emulate one the other's puffings, tail-sweepings, circlets in 
the air, and wing-clappings ; while the Fantails and Runts, and all those 
kinds which the French call pigeons mondains , walk the ground with conscious 
importance and grace. But this is their honeymoon — the time for the 
frolics of giddy young people. The male is the first to become serious. He 
foresees that " the Campbells are coming" better than his bride, and therefore 
takes possession of some locker or box that seems an eligible tenement. If 
it is quite empty and bare, he carries to it a few straws or light sticks; but- 
if the apartment has been already furnished for him, he does not at present 
take much further trouble in that line. Here he settles himself, and begins 
complaining. His appeal is sometimes answered by the lady affording him 
her presence, sometimes not; in which case he does not pine in solitude very 
long, but goes and searches out his careless helpmate, and with close pursuit 
and a few sharp pecks if necessary, insists upon her attending to her business 
at home. Like the good husband described in Fuller's Holy State, " his love 
to his wife weakeneth not his ruling her, and his ruling lesseneth not his 
loving her." And so the hen obeys, occasionally, however, giving some 
trouble; but at last she feels that she must discontinue general visiting 
and long excursions, and enters the modest establishment that has been 
prepared for her performance of her maternal duties. A day or two after 
she has signified her acceptance of the new home, an egg may be expected 
to be found there. Over this she (mostly) stands sentinel till, after an 
intervening day, a second egg is laid, and incubation really commences, 
not hotly and energetically at first, as with hens, turkeys, and many other, 
birds, but gently and with increasing assiduity. And now the merits of 
her mate grow apparent He does not leave his lady to bear a solitary burden 
of matrimonial care. He takes a share, though a minor one, of the task 
of incubating; and he more than performs his half-share of the labor of 
rearing the young. At about noon, sometimes earlier, the hens leave their 
nests for air and exercise as well as food, and the cocks take their place upon 
the eggs. If you enter a pigeon-loft at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, 
you will find all the cock-birds sitting — a family arrangement that affords an 
easy method of discovering which birds are paired with which. The ladies 
are to be seen taking their respective turns in the same locations early in 
the morning, in the evening, and all the night. The older a cock-pigeon 
grows, the more fatherly does he become. So great is his fondness for having 
a rising family, that an experienced unmated cock -bird, if he can but induce 
some flighty young hen to lay him a couple of eggs as a great favor, will 
almost entirely take the charge of hatching and rearing them himself. We 
are possessed of an old Blue Antwerp Carrier which by following this line 
was, with but little assistance from any female, an excellent provider of pie 
materials, till he succeeded in educating a hen Barb to be a steady wife and 
mother. 

There was a good deal of observation put into pigeons by Mr. Dixon 
before he expressed the above sentiments and what he saw you will see 
when you watch your flock. 

HOW TO KEEP DOWN AN EXCESS OF COCKS. 

One of our customers in Connecticut of considerable experience and 
~>riginal thought has tried out our Homers with birds from other sources, and 



242 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

has found them superior to all he has tried. He had no culls among the 
squabs. He has bought largely of our Homers and Carneaux. He had been 
trying on some white Homers our plan for getting 15 pairs from one pair 
of breeders in a year and thought the plan was original with him. This is 
an indication of the careful attention he has given to the details of the 
business. Here is another plan he has been working. An excess of cocks 
seems to be one of the troubles of some in raising young birds and for that 
reason we have requests for single hens. This customer proceeds on the 
theory that the second egg is said to hatch a hen, so he goes among the nests 
every day and marks all single eggs 1 with a pencil. Then in a couple of 
days when the second egg has come he marks it 2. Then he puts both the 2 
eggs in ons nest and both the 1 eggs in the other nest, making a memorandum 
of the nests and what he has done. When killing day arrives for these nests 
he saves the 2 squab and kills the 1 squab, thereby hoping to raise two hens. 
How this will work out in actual practice he does not know, because he has 
not been_ doing it long enough. We speak of it here so that our customers 
may try it if they wish and see how they come out. 

While in some lofts there may be an excess of male birds caused by con- 
tinuous breeding, it is true c.nat the law of the species is to hatch out equally. 
Otherwise in time, and a comparatively short time too, the entire species 
would be extinct. It is absolutely not true that more cocks than hens hatch 
out. The law is that equal numbers hatch out, for this law is necessary to 
the propagation of the species. 

We have had thousands of customers start with three pairs or six pairs 
or twelve pairs and increase from that small beginning to 200 or 300 pairs 
or more, as our letters from customers show. This is proof that the law 
of equal sex holds fairly good even in the restricted confines of a small squab 
house. 

Squab raising for profit is a new business for the Connecticut customer 
above mentioned. He is well up on pigeons as a fancy or rather amusement, 
having kept in Europe at one time or another a few pairs of all breeds. He 
has been getting $4.50 for his squabs all summer in Connecticut, with some 
at $3.50 to his local butcher who retails them at $4.50, unassorted, running 
over eight pounds to the dozen. He says the more he sees of this business 
the more he is convinced that conducted right there isj big money in it ; but 
conducted wrong it is a poor business. This is certainly correct, and is why 
we insist upon our birds being used and managed in the way we tell both 
in this book, and the special instructions which we send out with every 
shipment. 

SQUAB HOUSES OF TWO AND THREE STORIES. 

We have been asked by customers whose ground is limited or who happen 
to have a certain plot, if a two-story house would not be ah right in which 
to raise squabs. Some of these customers have figured out carefully and 
thoroughly that the construction of the two-story house is cheaper than two 
one-story houses. A two-story house certainly may be built. We print 
on the opposite page a photograph of a two and one-half story pigeon house. 
This breeder is a good customer who has bought about $2000 worth of 
Plymouth Rock birds of us during the past four years, and he understands 
what he is about. We asked him to describe his plant. He says this house, 
which is part of his large plant, was not transformed from an old place, but 



APPENDIX F 



24J 



4~ i 

- 

i /'Si 


&. - r lP ^v^jfli 



TWO AND ONE-HALF STORY SQUAB HOUSE. 
This was built to utilize to best advantage a small plot of ground. For description see this page and the opposite 
page. 



was built especially for pigeons. It was almost a case of necessity with him, 
as all the plots of ground near him were owned by one man who stood out for 
a stiff price. The customer accordingly built this house and says he has 
never regretted it. After it was built he was able to purchase all the land 
he ever should need, and he bought it right. This three-story house is 54 
feet long and 20 feet wide, 14 feet to top flat, 14 feet rafter with one foot pro- 
jection. The third floor is laid on a level with top flat. The third floor does 
not extend across the entire width of the building, but drops back five feet 
from each side, giving room for three nests from floor to roof. The four 
sides of these pens are lined with nests, and the pens are 10x10 feet. Single 
dormer window on north and two dormer windows on south (this is shown 
in photograph). No hallway on third floor, but steps from second floor 
go up near the center of the building, making it unnecessary to pass through 
all pens to reach the end pens. First and second floors alike have a four-foot 
hallway on the north side, and each floor has six pens 9x16 feet. The 
partitions between these pens are formed by the nest boxes. Feed and water 
from the hallway. The floors are of matched lumber and the first floor is 
double with paper between. The frame of building was first covered with 
heavy roofing of a popular brand and sided with ship-top lumber. Under 
the west end of this building is a basement 20x20 feet, cement floor, used for 



244 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

picking and packing squabs. The building has 17 pens, and each pen has 
its flying pen which reaches the ground. For the first floor, the flying pens 
are nine feet wide and seven feet high, and extend out 20 feet from the 
building. Beyond the south end of flying pen for first floor, the flying pen 
extends another 20 feet. This extended pen is divided into two pens 10x9 
feet on the ground. The birds from the second and third floors reach these 
pens through a fly-way above the flying pen of the first floor, one-half as wide. 
You will notice a tank (shown in photograph) on the roof. Water is forced 
from a cistern into this tank. All pens outside are connected with water 
main, making it easy to give the birds a bath. 

SQUABS FED ARTIFICIALLY. 

Sometimes it is desirable or necessary to feed a squab artificially, introduc- 
ing the right kind of a mixture with the fingers or with a syringe. These 
efforts are more or less crude. The best way is as it is done in Italy, but it 
is doubtful whether our squab raisers would employ it. We first saw this 
done in Bologna, Italy. The squabs are shipped into Bologna from the 
outlying country when they are about the same age as our squabs, four 
weeks. They are always shipped in alive in common slatted coops. It is 
quite necessary that the squabs be fed before they are re-shipped alive as 
they always are to Paris or Monte Carlo or Aix-les-Bains. They are fed in 
the following manner: The workman mixes up a sort of thick gruel with 
grain and water. All the grain which he uses is quite fine, such as the finest 
size of cracked corn. Then he fills his mouth with a quantity of this mixture 
and begins feeding the squabs. He takes up a squab in his two hands and 
holds the bill of the squab to his mouth. The squab is hungry and naturally 
open its bill, or if not the operator opens the bill of the squab for him. The 
operator then with his tongue forces into the mouth of the squab a quantity 
of the mixture, and the squab fills its crop. Immediately another squab is 
taken and handled in the same manner. This process is done with great 
skill and rapidity. We watched one operator feed a coop of 24 squabs in 
five minutes. This artificial feeding of squabs is very common in Bologna 
and in other European cities, where it has been going on for years. The 
operators show no repugnance, but keep at the work as part of their daily 
round of duties month after month. 

NESTS ON THE FLOOR. 

It is impossible to prevent some pairs from building on the floor of the 
squab house. Squab breeders who have a large bump of system and order 
are cast down because all of their pairs do not stick to the nest boxes all 
the time. You cannot force certain pairs to breed in the nest boxes. They 
will pick out a corner on the floor or alongside of the crate containing the 
nesting material or under a tier of nest boxes. There they will build their 
nest and rear their squabs and they are generally left alone. Do not take 
their nests and eggs and put them in one of the nest boxes, for if you do it 
is not likely the birds will follow. 

Squabs from such nests should be carefully watched and should be taken 
away to be killed before they are strong enough to walk around on the floor. 
You will have to take away such squabs when they are full and plump at 
three weeks of age. If you leave them in the nest too long it is quite usual 
for them to get up and walk around on the floor and as soon as they do this 



APPENDIX F 245 

they are no longer squabs, but have trained off their fat and become young 
pigeons. Squabs in the nest boxes do not walk around like these because 
they realize that they are somewhat weak and will not take the flight to the 
floor. 

It is troublesome when cleaning to avoid some nests on the floor. When 
the young birds leave the nest boxes above they are quite helpless and will 
rest on the floor. The old birds which have built their nests on the floor 
will peck the young birds and give them no rest. The cocks especially will 
do this. 

A customer has found out a way which he has had in use for some time 
to keep pairs off the floor and induce them to build in the nest boxes. When 
he finds a new nest on the floor, he lets the hen lay both eggs there and sit 
on them for one or two days. Then he makes a nest box about twelve inches 
square and six inches high and places the nest, eggs and all, into this box 
and allows the nest box to stand on the floor of the squab house in the same 
spot where he found the original nest. He reports that nine times out of 
ten the hen will sit on the nest as before. He lets her sit on the eggs for 
three or four days more, then he takes the nest box, eggs and all, and screws 
or nails it to the side wall as near as possible to the spot where the nest was 
on the floor. Sometimes he raises the nest box from the floor a small distance 
at a time, one inch one day, another inch the following day. He says that 
although this is quite a trouble it seems to break the hen of the habit of 
building on the floor and the next time she is more than likely to build the 
nest off the floor. 

A PLAN TO GET RID OF RATS AND MICE. 

One of our customers gives us the following idea: Make a rough table 
of matched board with joists for legs, about three and one-half or four feet 
high and the same shape as the feed box, only have it three feet longer and 
three feet wider. This will allow for a platform 18 inches wide around the 
feed box for the birds to stand on and eat the grain; next make a rim, high 
enough so that when the pigeons are getting grain they will not scatter any 
on the floor. Do not be afraid of having the rim too high, eight inches will 
be all right. Have this eight-inch rim all around. The last thing is to buy 
some smooth, glassy tin plate and wrap a piece around each leg. It is not 
necessary to cover the whole leg, 12 to 18 inches will be enough. This will 
make it impossible for rats or mice to climb up over the tin and eat the 
grain. The legs should be 18 inches or two feet high. 

Another way to manage instead of using the tin is to put the feed box up 
on a platform and support this platform with four legs made of iron pipe. 
Generally there is a joint in the tin, and some mice may run up a joint or 
seam of this kind, putting their feet into the crack in the seam. If you use 
iron pipe to support the platform it will be impossible for the rats or mice 

to climb up this iron pipe tD 3 feed box. You should use four pieces of 

piping, one at each corner. 

Here is another way to clean out the mice: Take a small tight box, say 
six inches by six inches in size. Bore an inch or two-inch hole at one side 
near the bottom, put in a handful of feathers or cotton and lay the box on 
the floor in a secluded part of the squab house. In about two weeks go to 
the box quietly in the daytime, put your hand over the hole, and carry the 
box to a barrel or tub half full of water. The mice will jump out faster 



246 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

than you can count. One customer got 48 at the first trial, and about ten 
the next time. This took them all and he was no longer troubled by mice. 

HOW TO MAKE PERCHES. 

In making perches, one of our friends has a plan that may be of use to 
some beginner. Take a square tobacco caddy with dove-tailed corners, 
such as can be had at any tobacco counter. Remove the bottom and saw 
the sides in two half way. A small block of wood nailed in the angle furnishes 
an easy way to fasten the perch to the wall. 

PITTSBURG MARKET. 

Our customers repeatedly call our attention to the fine market for squabs in 
Pittsburg. They are quoted at $4 a dozen in the newspapers there, and we 
have customers in that city who are getting as high as a dollar apiece, or 
$12 a dozen, for first-class squabs bred from our birds, weighing a pound 
apiece. It is quite true that Pittsburg is an excellent squab market, in 
fact, one of the best in the country, as there are so many rich people there. 
We have also some good, live, wide-awake customers who are shipping 
squabs to Pittsburg, and they have shown Pittsburg squab buyers the 
superiority of well-bred squabs. The result is that they have worked up 
an insistent demand which must be satisfied. What our customers have done 
for Pittsburg anybody can do living near a city, or a town. This work of 
letting your nearest market know what you have, and then showing what 
you have to the market must be done by you. Nobody can do it for you. 
The prices 3^ou can get for your squabs, and the demand for your squabs, 
which you can create, rest entirely with you. Nobody can do this from 
a distance — you are on the ground and such work must be done by you. 

LOW QUOTATIONS. 

Beginners may find in the newspapers or in letters from commission men 
a low quotation for squabs. Some will write to commission men and dealers 
asking them what they will pay for squabs, etc. In nearly every case the 
commission man or dealer will write back an absurdly low price. It is to 
his advantage of course to buy squabs as cheap as he can and sell as dear as 
he can. The most peculiar feature of such matters to us is that the breeder 
or prospective breeder of squabs apparently takes the matter for settled 
and writes us that he can get only $1.50 or $2 a dozen for squabs. Such 
people seem to be lacking entirely in any business ability. An eight-year- 
old boy who is accustomed to selling newspapers has enough business judg- 
ment to prevent him from writing such a letter. Of course the commission 
men or squab dealers start with a very low price. If the breeder vill sell 
to him at this very low price, that is so much more to the advantage of the 
commission man or dealer. He is writing to feel out the breeder. If the 
breeder writes back to him and says, "You,, rrice is too low, you will never 
get my squabs for this figure," then the commission man or dealer will raise 
his prices. The dealer who is selling squabs for from $3 to $6 or more a 
dozen (as they all are) will pay from $2.50 to $4 a dozen, no matter who he 
is or where he lives, in any part of the United States or Canada. 

The only way for you to determine the true market price of squabs wher- 
ever you live is to go into the market or apply by letter and offer to buy 
squabs and not to sell them. In all the letters you write and all the talk 



APPENDIX F 247 

you make, offer to buy all the time and then the dealer will disclose to you 
the true prices. Then you will know what to sell your squabs for. If you 
find that he is selling squabs at $3 a dozen, he should pay you $2.50 a dozen. 
If he is selling squabs for $4 a dozen, he should pay you $3 a dozen for them 
and so on. 

Once more, be on your guard against market quotations. If you see 
squabs quoted in a newspaper or anywhere else at low prices it does not 
follow by any means that that price is the true one. Such figures are put 
in because they are the prices of the commission men or dealers, which they 
want to pay. 

No successful squab business can be built up if you allow a middleman to 
run your plant for you. You are simply buying grain and working for him. 
He has no trouble or expense to amount to anything but he takes the profits 
and you do all the work. When grain is high you must get more for your 
squabs than you do at other times. The trouble with many squab raisers 
we have found is that they have no actual knowledge of what it costs them 
to raise a dozen squabs. You must arrive at your cost of product absolutely 
and when you do it is folly to sell squabs for that figure or less. You must 
put them out at a profit or else go out of the business. Our best customers 
are those who have sense enough to sell to a private trade or to first-class 
wholesalers, and this must be your goal in every case, If you wish to make 
the most money, get right after your private trade until you secure it, as 
this is unlimited. People who are accustomed to eating chicken, as they 
are in every part of the country, will eat squabs. If they do not, it is your 
fault. You must tell them what a squab is and show them, and induce 
them to buy and eat them. If they do not know what a squab is, you must 
demonstrate. 

HOW TO KILL CATS. 

A kitten brought up in a squab house will make no trouble. We raise 
two or three kittens every year at Melrose and give them the run of the pigeon 
houses, and such cats are intelligent enough not to try to reach the squabs. 
Of all the cats we have raised we have had only one which we were obliged 
to shoot because of squab stealing. 

Cats belonging to the neighbors may cause some trouble in your squab 
house if you give them a chance to get in. A customer in Ohio has found 
a way to kill visiting cats. He does not like to have them around the squab 
house trying to get in so he puts exposed wires on the top of the flying pen 
and when the cats walk around on the top of the pen, looking for a chance 
to get at the pigeons inside, he throws a switch in the basement. A strong 
current of electricity shoots through the wires. The body of the cat makes 
a short circuit from one wire to the other so the charge of electricity passes 
through the cat. The result is that the cat tumbles off in double quick time 
and starts for the tall timber, if alive. He says he has electrocuted two and 
still has his hand near the switch. 

BREEDING TRUE TO COLOR. 

No colored Homers breed true to color. We mean by this that if you 
start with the blue-barred Homers, for example, and breed them, you will 
in time get from these blue-barred birds all the other colors, such as blue- 
checkers, red-checkers, silvers, etc. All these colors are in the blood and 



248 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

they will come out in time if you give them time enough. Some pairs are 
eccentric in their breeding. A certain pair of blue-barred birds may breed 
blue bars, whereas another pair of blue bars may breed one blue-barred squab 
and one blue-checkered squab, or any other color, and this variation may 
be characteristic of this breeding for quite a period. It is impossible to pre- 
dict absolutely. 

Our white Homers breed true to color. If you buy white Homers of us 
and breed them, the squabs will be white- feathered constantly and will not 
be blue barred or blue checkered, or any other color, except very rarely. 

SULPHUR OR IRON WATER. 

Parties write us from different sections of the country stating that the 
water where they live contains sulphur and others write that the water 
contains iron. For example, on the East coast of Florida about half-way 
down, all the water is strongly impregnated with sulphur. Breeders write 
us to know if this sulphur water is all right for pigeons. To this we reply 
yes, when they get accustomed to it. If when you get your pigeons you 
find that this sulphur or iron water is affecting them, stop it and give the 
birds rain water. Rain water is absolutely pure water containing no mineral 
substances whatever, except the trifling amount of dust which may get in 
as the rain water runs down a roof before it gets into a rain-barrel or cistern. 
It is always safe to give this rain water to pigeons and you can introduce 
them to your sulphur or iron water as slowly as you please, by adding the 
sulphur or iron water to the rain water from day to day until the mixture 
is finally all sulphur or iron water. This will accustom the birds to the new 
water and before long you will have no need of using the rain water. 

PIGEONS THAT FLY AWAY. 

In every day's mail, two or three letters and often more recount the story 
that the writers have accidentally left open the doors of their squab houses 
or the doors of their flying pens; or that some other accident has happened 
so that some of the pigeons have flown away from the premises. Customers 
writing from as far as California tell us this and sometimes telegraph us and 
wish us to catch these birds as soon as they reappear at Melrose and send 
them back by express. The capacity for flight of a Homer does not seem 
to be a matter of well-defined knowledge, so we will say here that flights of 
over 500 miles for a homing pigeon are very rare. We have no cases on 
record of flights of homing pigeons even from Ohio or Illinois to New York 
or Massachusetts. It is incredible that a homing pigeon would get back 
to its native place after a flight of two or three thousand miles. Birds 
which have been imported would make no attempt to fly back across the 
ocean or to the shipping point, so if you lose any of your pigeons out of 
your coop, the best you can do is to hope that they will return, as quite 
often they do. Recently we recall a case where a customer lost nine birds 
which flew away but five of them returned and went inside the house. 

Once again we repeat, hoping it will catch the eyes of so many who write 
us, that any Homers which you buy you must keep wired in all the time, 
otherwise they will fly away and leave you. By all the time we mean day 
after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, continually 
and perpetually, as long as the pigeons live. You cannot feed them for a 
month or so and then let them out and think that they will stay with you. 



APPENDIX F 249 

They have a yearning and a longing, the homing instinct, to try to get back 
to the place where they were bred. 

Any Homers which you breed yourself you can safely let fly because they 
know no home but yours and will stay with you. If you have a mixed 
flock of Homers including not only those which you have raised but some 
you have bought, you cannot let them out with any certainty that those 
you have raised will hold on your premises those which you have bought. 
It is quite possible that those which were raised elsewhere will leave you.' 

NO COAL ASHES. 

About every household here in the North burns coal and the problem of 
getting rid of the ashes is considerable to many people who do not live in 
the city where the city wagons call to take them away. The result is that 
we have hundreds of letters asking if coal ashes can be put in the flying pen 
of the squab house. 

Coal ashes should not be put in the flying pens where the birds can peck 
at them, because they are irritating to the mouths and other insides of the 
birds. It is all right to put down a layer of coal ashes in a pen for the founda- 
tion if you want to get rid of a lot of coal ashes, but on top of these ashes 
a layer of gravel should be put down from four to six inches thick and the 
top of this gravel should be renewed every three or four months. 

TEMPORARY PEN AND BREEDING PEN. 

It is very necessary to avoid having odd or unmatched birds at liberty in 
the loft during the time the other birds are either mating or breeding. If 
there be but one such bird in the loft, be it male or female, it will be sure to 
cause disturbance among the mated birds, either by getting mated to some 
bird you have had great trouble to get mated to your wishes, or by causing 
continual fighting, resulting in many broken eggs or dead young ones. All 
odd birds should therefore be either kept up in pens or in a loft by themselves 
during the breeding season. For the same reasons, three or four pairs of 
newly-mated birds should not be turned into the loft together. If they are, 
there will certainly be quarreling, as two or more pairs will want to take the 
same nest box, which will often be the cause of pairs getting unmatched, 
and remated in a manner which is not desirable. To avoid this, each pair 
as they are mated should be turned into the loft singly, when they will select 
one of the unoccupied boxes, and go on quietly. It is very rarely necessary, 
if this plan be pursued, to adopt any measures for inducing a pair to take 
a proper nest, supposing there be one at disposal; but if any trouble be 
anticipated, any kind of a cage of lath or wire may be fixed to the front of 
the breeding box, and the birds then confined for a few days in sight of the 
rest of the loft, till they have got thoroughly used to their new abode. We 
can hardly remember an instance, however, where such a plan was necessary, 
unless the breeding places were so numerous and so much alike as to puzzle 
the birds. In this case the plan we prefer is to make some distinction at 
the entrances: thus, a half-brick may be placed at one hole; and passing the 
next, something else at the next alternate one, by which the birds wnl readily 
learn their proper breeding-places. One more caution must be added in regard 
to mating the birds. It frequently happens that, on account of proved sterling 
qualities, it is desired to breed from an old pigeon as long as any fertile eggs 
can be obtained from him ; and this can only be done by matching him with 




PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRA HOMER MALE 



250 



APPENDIX F 251 

a very young hen. Such a pair will frequently breed well; and we have 
had fine strong young ones from an old Barb over ten years of age, which 
won many prizes. But it is in such cases particularly needful to avoid 
having in the same loft any lively young cock with a strong voice, for if this 
be the case, the young hen will frequently leave her eggs to reach and pair 
with the young bird, even though he be already mated, and thus all the 
owner's plans are liable to be frustrated. For although pigeons as a rule 
pair with great fidelity, exceptions are by no means rare; and cases have 
been known in which a cock has mated with two hens, and even assisted 
both in hatching and rearing their young; while we once possessed a cock 
which, though he never aided them in family duties, regularly paired with no 
less than five hens. This case being so very remarkable, we took particular 
notice of it, and can vouch for the truth of what we state. To the naturalist 
such instances are particularly interesting; as showing that, under some 
circumstances, pigeons might possibly become gregarious like poultry. 

The above paragraph we have taken word for word from the writings 
of Mr. Fulton, the best English authority, to which our attention was first 
called in December, 1908. Readers of this Manual will note that his ideas 
correspond with ours — indeed, such things are not a matter of opinion, 
they are a matter of fact. What one observer sees, another will see. In 
the light of the above, how absurd it is for a pigeon tradesman to represent 
in his advertisements or printed matter that he controls the matings or love 
affairs of his birds to the extent of assuring the probable purchaser that they 
are absolutely and irrevocably " married for life," " mated absolutely-never- 
to-be-changed." The object of such representation is to convince the 
probable purchaser that the pairs will go to work in a new home exactly 
according to schedule or pre-arrangement, and that all he has to do is to 
take feed and water to them, and exchange the squabs at intervals for half- 
dollars. Such claims are made with the intense anxiety of consummating 
a sale by assertions just a little more plausible, regardless of the habits of 
the pigeons. 

TWIGS FOR NESTING MATERIALS. 

Some pairs will build their nests entirely or partly of twigs, if given the 
opportunitv. A customer in New York read of pine 'needles in this book, 
so thought of twigs. He put in half a bushel or so of dry old hemlock twigs. 
All used them and one pair made their nest wholly of them. 

Another of our friends states that he has solved the nesting material 
proposition, as far as his own squab raising is concerned (pleasure and hobby). 
Instead of providing the birds any tobacco stems, or other nesting material, 
he does not give them anything, except to fill their nappies (or the little 
two-inch deep by 15-inch square boxes that he has for them to build in) 
with sawdust, or fine shavings from the local saw mill. The birds do well 
in them, and when he takes out a pair of squabs for the nippers, he empties 
out the sawdust, which nearly cleans the nappies and what does remain 
is very easily removed with trowel and brush. He then refills them with 
fresh sawdust or fine shavings, and they are ready for use again. He has 
found this very successful. New birds have to get used to the change but it 
does not take them long to take to it. Young birds of course, raised in 
them, do not know anything else. 




PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRA HOMER FEMALE 



252 



APPENDIX F 253 

CLAMORING FOR SQUABS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. 

The squab market in the Northwest corner of the United States at this 
writing (1909) continues to be wonderfully strong. Our attention is called 
to this from time to time by correspondents in the State of Washington. 
Apparently there is no limit to the demand there, as in the other great 
States. We were surprised in September, 1908, to receive the following 
letter from the president of a hotel comoany in Seattle, proprietors of one 
of the best hotels west of the Mississippi river: 

Kindly send me a half dozen of your pamphlets, covering the growing of squabs. I wish 
to send these to the small towns contiguous to Seattle — that is to the Chamber of Commerce 
of each town, to be directed to the right parties who would want to eniage in this business. 
Quite a number have expressed their desire to do so. We are anxious to receive nice squabs 
and will pay a good price. Thanking you in advance for the pamphlets. 

We thought it surprising that a hotel man should be inquiring for squabs 
in such an insistent manner and asked him for details. He replied under 
date of September 26, 1908, as follows: 

I am in receipt of your treatise on squabs, likewise the booklets. I have advertised in a 
number of country papers where the farmers are liable to take up this matter, informing them 
that they can increase their income and to write me and that I will send them a booklet. I will 
send you later on a copy of the advertisement. There is no reason that a number of farmers 
should not take up this work, as I should think the extra grain they would have around for 
food would practically cost them very little. 

Under date of October 9, he wrote us again the following letter: 

Inasmuch as your circulars have all been used, we would ask you to send us about a couple 
of dozen more. We are advertising in the papers as per enclosed clipping, and have received 
many responses, which we think should bring you results. 

The newspaper clipping showing how this hotel man was trying to stimulate 
the squab production was as follows : 

WHY DON'T YOU RAISE SQUABS? 
You have enough waste feed to do so 
without extra cost, We will tell you 
how and buy all you have — it will add 
largely to your income. 

In a letter dated October 24, he explained his intentions more fully as 
follows : 

In response to your recent favor, I beg to state the only object that we have in securing 
persons to raise squabs is that we may get sufficient to meet our demands. At the present time 
we find it difficult, just when we want squabs, to receive as many as we have a demand for. 

My idea in advertising this in the paper was to not alone derive a personal benefit, but to 
help the country along in general. We should all be up-builders, particularly in the West. 

We give this correspondence here the publicity it deserves and hope that 
our friends, old and new, in the State of Washington, will take hold ener- 
getically and give this hotel man, and the other squab consumers in Seattle, 
the Plymouth Rock squabs for which they are so eager. Evidently the State 
of Seattle is so prosperous with big enterprises that squab raising has to wait 
its turn and now is a sort of spare time money-maker. We feel confident, 
however, that there must be a large number of people in the State of Wash- 
ington who are not too busy to overlook a good thing of such promise, and 
they will be encouraged to go ahead after reading the above correspondence- 



254 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 

Our shipments of breeding stock in 1908 to this State were quite large, fully 
as much volume as to California. 

A correspondent in Acosta, Washington, wrote us in November, 1908: 

I am going into the squab business in Washington (Lewis County). Squabs sell in Seattle 
and Tacoma markets at $2.50 and $3.50 per dozen, and the market is not supplied ten per cent 
of the demand. I have 15 acres to devote to this business. 

OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY. 

If a stranger to the poultry and squab industry were asked to name a 
section of the United States where chickens and squabs probably would sell 
the slowest, he might name Oklahoma and the Indian Territory. In this 
judgment he would fall into considerable error, for the people there are just 
as enterprising and just as fond of good things to eat as they are in the East, 
although there may not be so many of them. Witness the following letter 
to us dated June 27, 1908, from a prospective customer in a small city in the 
Indian Territory: 

Some few weeks ago I wrote you for catalogue, now I want your squab book and you will find 
enclosed $1.00 in stamps to pay for same. How many pairs would you advise me to start with? 
The Almeda Hotel says they can handle from four to ten dozen a day. This hotel is the 
leading hotel of my city. 

.Four to ten dozen squabs daily is going some for one hotel in the Indian 
Territory. 

Concerning Oklahoma, one of the leading poultry, butter, eggs, etc., houses 
in Oklahoma City wrote the following letter to one of our friends under date 
of March 14, 1908: 

In regard to squabs, will say, that there are not any handled around here to speak of. There 
is no reason why it should not be a paying business, if some one would start here who understands 
it fully, and turned out a good article, just at proper age and of good quality, etc. No reason 
why a good demand could not be worked up for them here. If at any time you should raise 
more than you could put out locally, we could undoubtedly find a good market for them, as we 
are shipping out of here in carload lots weekly to New York City and California. Will be glad 
to give you any further information and have you write us. 

In other words, the demand waits on the supply. Get busy, Oklahoma 
folks. Grain is cheaper for you than for us here in the East and if you may 
not succeed in getting New York prices for your squabs, you will make as 
much money as squab farmers here. 



TWO YEARS' WORK IN MAINE. From MOST PRACTICAL BOOK SHE EVER 

18 pairs of your Extra stock that I bought a READ. The National Standard Squab Book 

little over two years ago, I now have 300 is a most satisfactory treatment of the subject 

mated pairs and at least 50 pairs that will of squab raising. It seems to me to be the 

be mated very soon. — F. R., Maine. most practical book I have ever read on any 

subject. — Mrs. E. G. W., Washington. 

GREAT SATISFACTION. I am pleased 

to be able to advise you that the pigeons which HOW A RETAIL TRADE GROWS. My 

I purchased from you are giving me great Plymouth Rock Homers are doing well. I 

satisfaction, as they have really doubled m am se iii n? some of the squabs. One customer 

number and the squabs have been very heavy, gets ano ther, so I have orders for all I can 

healthy, delicious. I am sure that you will spare at preS ent. — G. R., Michigan, 
be pleased to hear the above report — 

F. J., New York. TW0 Y EARS' BREEDING IN IDAHO. 

MINNESOTA GROWTH. I have a nice We take advantage of the present (February, 

little plant of about 250 pairs from the stock 1908) to thank you again for the excellent 

I bought from you some two years ago. — quality of birds sent us in June, '06. — J. W., 

M. H., Minnesota. Idaho. 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



THIS CUSTOMER IS A TIN ROOFER AND MAKES GOOD WAGES BUT HAS FOUND OUT 
THAT HIS TIME IS WORTH MORE RAISING GOOD SQUABS. 1 will try and give you an 
account of how my birds are doing in the Scate of West Virginia. About 18 months ago I saw 
the advertisement of the Plymouth Rock Squab Company in a magazine and I decided to try a 
small lot of birds. I first wrote for literature, then sent fifty cents for a Manual, which I got by 
return mail, and would not take $5 for it now. As soon as 1 got my book I sent for six pairs 
of Extra Homers, and to say they were fine would not begin to express my opinion of them. 
They were the finest birds I ever saw and every one says the same. I built a small house 6 by 
6 feet for them at first, but soon had tc build a larger one. 1 have a house 10 x 12 with a 12 x 20 
foot fly, but this is too small now. 1 am trying to get a place in the country near town and will 
go into the squab business right. I have had my birds about 15 months, have had 180 birds 
hatched and have about 30 mated pairs now. 1 have sold all my squabs since March 1 at $3 
per dozen. One hotel takes all I have and could handle three or four times as many. I sell about 
a dozen a week. Feed is very high here, but there certainly is money in them anyhow. I have 
one pair that I bought of you that I have kept careful account of since they started to work. 
They went to work the week aftei I got them, and have laid and set every month since. They 
have hatched and raised 26 squabs, having lost two eggs, and todav are building for the 15th 
time. If all were like them, I certainly would make the best record ever known. I have lost 
a few eggs and three or four young birds that were two or three davs old, but 1 think that is 
a very small loss. I hope to get a location soon for I am convinced that there is good pay in 
raising squabs. I advise anv one who is thinking of going into the business to buy their stock 
of Mr. Rice, for I consider him a perfect gentleman and as for the Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, 
I cannot say to'o much for them. They beat anvthing 1 ever saw. My birds are producing 
about nine pairs of squabs per pair, per year. The average weight of the squabs is ten pounds 
per dozen, which I consider very good. I hope to be able to send an order for more breeders 
before the fall and they certainly will be Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I am a tin roofer by 
trade and make very good wares, but a squab plant of a thousand pairs I know will pay me much 
better. I use the self-feeder and your drinking fountain and find them perfectly satisfactory. 
I use tobacco stems and straw for nesting material. — -W. M. C, West Virginia. 



FOUND INSTRUCTIONS CLEAR AND 
CONVINCING. I thank you for your courtesy 
of September 22, and it is just what I wanted 
to know. I am so situated in regard to my 
present occupation that I cannot do anything 
before this time next year and then 1 hope to 
place my order with you for 300 pairs of your 
Extra Plymouth Rock breeders and 10 pair 
of the red Carneaux. I know you must be a 
busy man, but I wish to tell you I have been 
looking over every field that I know of for 
a man with $1000 to $1500. 

I spent $10 for poultry information which 
was so contradictory that I threw them all 
into the Atlantic and vowed never to have 
one near me. I then got your information, 
and everything has been so clear and concise 
that I have no hesitancy in knowing what I 
will do. The plans enclosed from you were 
about what I had figured out for myself, 
only I had given more room and consequently 
would have made the cost more if I had not 
spent 50 cents for your Manual and 10 cents 
for your plans. By so doing I consider I 
saved, or rather, will save, from $75 to $100 
on my pens and buildings. 

Pardon this long-winded letter, but I feel 
that apart from your trying to sell your stock 
to a probable customer I think all the more 
of you and your business. methods, and know 
you will give me all you rep r esent your stock 
to be when the time comes. Wish you and 
the Plymouth Rock Squab Company all the 
success you deserve, and that squabs will 
be eaten bv a larger number of people. — 
R. H. W.. New York. 



MARKET FOR SQUABS IS LOW IN HIS 
PARr OF TEXAS BECAUSE BREEDERS 
DO NOT PUf UP PRICES. " I got my 

pigeons from the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Co.," is the proud answer I give to any one 
askin? me where I got my pigeons. When I 
tell them that I started with only 12 and have 
raised about 150, they say I have done 
wonderfully. Some other squab raisers 
around me have not raised half that many 
in twice that time. (They have common 
pigeons, that is the secret of it.) My pigeons 
have fully repaid me. I think they are 25 
per cent better than any Homers around me. 
My birds raise from seven to nine pairs per 
year and I can sell all I can raise. I have 
about 100 breeders and they keep me stocked 
very well. The market prices down here are 
very low. They have been used to common 
squabs and do not know what is good, but 
I am going to raise the price all I can. It is 
onlv $1.25 to $1.50 and I hope to raise it to 
$2.50. My squabs weigh from 10 to 12 
pounds to the dozen. I have a self-feeder 
like the one in your Manual. I feed them a 
mixture of wheat and corn. I have followed 
your Manual strictly and have not departed 
from it in any way, and let me say right 
here that any one (even of those who do not 
know a thing about squabs') can take your 
Manual and read it through, follow it care- 
fully and make a success. They are bound 
to make a success. I think the squab busi- 
ness is a great one and is increasing every day. 
I have not had sickness of any kind. I can 
sell at home all I raise. — W. P. C, Texas. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

255 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




FLYING PEN OF A BARN. - - 

This New Jersey breeder's story is on this page. At the top of the next page one of the ladies of his household 
is shown holding a nest bowl in which are three squabs from one hatch*two days old. 



LOST ONLY ONE OLD BIRD AND THREE SQUABS IN FIVE MONTHS' BREEDING. I 

have had, I think, remarkable success wi h the blrCs so far, and thought possibly you would 
be pleased to hear it. The loss of one bird in the first lot shipped has been my entire mis- 
fortune, wi h the exception of three squabs, which I think the parent birds neglected. I have 
in the neighborhood now (August, 1908) of about 200 birds. Kind regards to your Mr. Rice. 

For breeding my flock, I have used about half my stable and have not been troubled with 
either mice or rats, as I built another floor over the old one, raising the same about IS inches, 
and do not think that there is any way for the rats to get at the birds; besides I have three 
cats that spend part of each day under the floors. You will see from the pictures that I have 
five units. They measure 10 by 12, with a three-foot passage in the centre. Watering, but 
not feeding, is done from this passage. 

You are very welcome indeed to use my name, and you cannot write a letter too strong for 
me to endorse, referring to the treatment, etc., received at your hands, also the quality of the 
birds delivered me and the results obtained from them. — J. W. H., New Jersey. 



HIGH-PRICED MARKET IN SARATOGA 
SPRINGS, NEW YORK. I like the National 
Standard Squab Book very well, as it plainly 
but fully tells everything necessary to know 
in the squab business and it becomes very 
useful to the pigeon fancier. There are 
boarding houses here in Saratoga Springs 
that pay $6 a dozen for squabs from common 
pigeons, for I have sold them. — C. N. G., 
New York. 



SQUAB BUSINESS IN MONTANA IS ALL 
RIGHT. Please find enclosed ten cents in 
stamps, for which mail me one copy of your 
plans and specifications for squab house. 
I am building new and larger quarters in the 
country and wish to build right. Seven of the 
Homers _ I obtained from you escaped from 
my pen in town, five returned. I have raised 
some beauties from my original stock. The 
squab business is all right. — R. C, Montana. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

256 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




THREE SQUABS HATCHED IN ONE NEST. 



BUILT HIS OWN HOUSE IN WASHING- 
TON (D. C), FOR TWENTY DOLLARS LESS 
THAN OUR ESTIMATE. I have a house 
constructed of all new material 12x16 and 
nine feet to peak, seven feet to eaves, divided 
into two rooms 8x9, a fly 8x16x18 divided 
down the center (doing all the work myself). 
Everything, including birds from you, cost 
me just $47.58 or about $20 less than your 
estimate, not so bad for a starter? I had a 
party call at my house, he hearing that I was 
going to raise squabs, offering me $3 per 
dozen the year round. He will have to. come 
again, as $3 will not get mine. — C. C. B., 
District of Columbia. 

CATHOLIC SISTERS RAISING SQUABS 
FOR THE PATIENTS IN THEIR HOSPITAL 
IN CHICAGO. We do not sell any of the 
squabs we raise, we use them all for our 
patients. We intend to have a photograph 
of our coop taken in order to let you see it 
and get your opinion about it. — Sister M., 
Illinois. 



SELLING OUT IN TEXAS TO MAKE 
ROOM FOR PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. 

Some time ago I purchased a Manual from 
you and received a Special Offer on your 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. As it was 
the best thing I heard of, and as I know 
your birds by their reputation, I got busy and 
began selling my stock off so as to make room 
for a sample shipment of your birds. I sold 
one customer in an inland village $10 worth 
of my birds and when he remitted it was the 
whole amount in two-cent stamps. What 
I wish to ask, Mr. Rice, is will you take, say 
$5 worth of them off my hands ? — L. S., Texas. 

ENLARGING TO A TEN-UNIT HOUSE. 

Last September I bought some breeders from 
you and same are doing nicely. As I want 
to enlarge my house, having bought a new 
place, I would kindly request you to send me 
as soon as possible a set of plans as per your 
offer in your Manual for a ten-unit house. 
Also send me some of your grit as per en- 
closed memorandum. — C. R., Conn. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



COMMON PIGEONS A FAILURE. REMARKABLE DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT FOUR 
PAIRS PLYMOUTH ROCKS WILL DO IN TEXAS. In February, 1907, I purchased 12 pairs 
of common pigeons from a friend, expecting to clear as large a profit from them as I could from 
the Homers. However, we soon found the difference for when we sold out about six months 
later, I am positive we did not sell more than 15 pairs altogether, that is to say, most of our 
squabs died or did not hatch. About the end of October, 1907, I received four pairs of Number 
One Homers from the Plymouth Rock Squab Company. About November 15 I got two pairs 
started and later on the other two started. I now (May, 1908) have 50 squabs and breeders 
and all our pairs are setting again. I have 15 pairs mated. I never saw anything like it. I 
have never seen any birds to equal ours in any respect. Our squabs are large and healthy, 
weighing not less than eight pounds to the dozen. I keep a careful record of the breeders and 
they average eight or nine pairs to the year. We do not know the price of them, as we have 
never sold any, but a friend of ours sold them at $4.80 a dozen. These were common and 
Homers mixed and I am sure that if he makes money off of those poor breeders, we ought to 
make more off your prolific birds. We have fed corn, Kaffir corn, wheat and a little millet. 
As we have followed your Manual as closely as possible, we have had no trouble with lice. We 
had two cases of canker, but we did what you advised and had no further trouble. I have not 
kept account of expenditures, but I know that the birds have well paid for themselves. My 
ideas of the birds and the business are O. K., and in the future I expect to raise more pigeons. 
You may be sure they will be Plymouth Rock Homers, as they are the best. I would have had 
no idea of the pigeon business had it not been for your Manual. I can tell you that it is all 
right and any one would be lost without it. I will always praise the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company in the highest terms. (I forgot to mention above that on account of our house being 
improperly built some small animal got through a hole and took eggs and squabs. This hap- 
pened three times but not any more). — E. G. R., Texas. 



SMALL FLOCK PAYING A GOOD PROFIT. 

In April, 1906, I bought six pairs of your 
Plymouth Rock Homers and in just one year 
I had raised 85 birds. In May, 1907, 17 
months after my first purchase, I had 110 or 
55 pairs. I then began selling squabs, and 
in the eight and one-half months I have sold 
228 squabs at 25 cents each, which is $57. 
I kill them with your killing machine, hang 
them up as your Manual teaches and bleed 
them. I do not have time to dress them, 
or I could get better prices. I have had none 
that weighed less than eight pounds, and 
many that weighed 10 pounds to the dozen. 
The expense of feeding them the eight and 
one-half months has been $33.15, a profit of 
$21.35. _ I think there is big money to be 
made raising squabs. I keep this small flock 
in connection with 35 chickens, and only have 
time outside of business hours to look after 
them, which is ample. 

I have seen lots of Homers, nice-looking 
ones too, but they do not breed as fast as 
mine. I follow your Manual, in fact, all 1 
know about them is what the book says. I 
have had no sickness nor lice, simply kept 
them clean and fed red wheat, cracked corn, 
Kaffir corn, buckwheat, hemp-seed, millet, 
oyster shells and plenty of good sand._ My 
idea of successful squab raising is cleanliness, 
pure feed and water, and attention to busi- 
ness. — C. H., New York. 

RAISING TOBACCO AND PLYMOUTH 
ROCK SQUABS. We grow 30,000 pounds 
of tobacco per year and make fresh stems 
constantly, bales run about 125 pounds. 
We have bought our first Homers from you 
and have done well. I am glad to hear from 
you on stems. — C. H. W., Connecticut. 



PERSONAL INQUIRY AND ITS RESULTS. 

I am a member of All Souls Unitarian Church 
of Washington, made up of New England 
people largely, and many of them Bostonians. 
Also I go to Greenacre (Eliot, Maine), occa- 
sionally in the summer to speak on Emerson 
and his philosophy, therefore I have a large 
acquaintance up your way. I mentioned 
my intention in a social group of going into 
squab raising and asked incidentally about 
your place. They offered to get me the re- 
port and did so, but I do not know the channel. 
I did not care to know«of your financial con- 
dition, but I was anxious to learn of your 
character and reputation. The report was 
very gratifying. In it was stated that you 
were "gilt-edged as to character and reputa- 
tion." It made me feel good to get such a 
report, for I knew I could safely go on and 
enlarge under your counsel and advice. 
Thank you for your offer to assist me when- 
ever I may call on you. If you happen down 
this way, try to see me either at the Bureau 
of Immigration or at my country home in 
Maryland, half-way between Washington and 
Baltimore, where we shall establish our plant. 
We are looking for a suitable piece of ground, 
say 10 or 20 acres, where we shall plant a good 
German and his wife and make it pay in other 
respects. — J. A. C, District of Columbia. 



SQUABS WEIGHING OVER ONE POUND 
WHEN THREE WEEKS OLD. I have re- 
ceived the female Homer in good shape. It 
was a prettv bird. I just weighed some of my 
squabs which are not quite three weeks old 
and they weigh over one pound. I expect 
to order some more birds some time in 
spring. — H S., Pennsylvania. 



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ANY OLD PLACE FIXED OVER. 

Results which are really surprising may be accomplished in quarters such as these, with good birds. (See the 
letter from the North Carolina man printed below.) 

NO BIRDS ON EXHIBITION AT THIS NORTH CAROLINA FAIR COULD TOUCH HIS 
PLYMOUTH ROCKS. I received from you April 2, 1908, 13 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock 

Homers. I have raised 60 birds, have sold 12 squabs and have lost 23, and I think that is doing 
well for six months' work. They have bred at the rate of four pairs per month. Some are slow, 
others are very fast indeed, and I have lost about 18 eggs on account of not having enough nest 
bowls, but have since put in more and will soon have to build. My house is of my own con- 
struction, very rough indeed, but I think answers the purpose very well, but in the future 
will build according to your plans except without the passageway. 

The birds I received from you and those I have raised and mated are indeed hard to beat. I 
have not seen any here that can touch them, in fact, none on exhibition at the fair here held 
October 13 to 16, could touch mine. The squabs at killing age weigh about three-quarters of a 
pound each. Have sold only one dozen squabs to people who are sick at $2.50 per dozen. I 
have fed whole corn, cracked corn, Kaffir corn, Canada peas, a little red wheat and a little 
green clover, cabbage cut very fine, and some rice and hemp seed about three times a week. 
Cannot say that I have followed your Manual in every detail. Please ship at once the enclosed 
order for feed. My birds are doing exceedingly fine and I am in hopes of being able to keep them 
so. I am well pleased with the squab business and intend to go into it for a living. — J. A. P., 
North Carolina. 



A WOMAN WHO GETS HER PRICE FOR 
SQUABS ALL THE YEAR. The people who 
have eaten my squabs say they are delicious, 
plump, and so much better than the market 
ones. I am getting $4.80 a dozen for them. 
That is my price no matter what they are in 
the market. They weigh over three-quarters 
of a pound each. — Mrs. E. G. A., New Jersey. 



LOST ONLY ONE BREEDING PIGEON IN 
THREE YEARS. I have had my Plymouth 

Rock pigeons three years in July and have had 
splendid luck, having lost only one banded 
pigeon by death, and one flew away. I have 
studied the Manual and got lots of help from 
it. I only wish I had more room to keep 
more birds. — M. H., New Jersey. 



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NINETEEN PRIZES WON ON 21 ENTRIES AT THIS LARGE "WORCESTER COUNTY 
EXHIBITION. I have been breeding your Plymouth Rock Homer stock for several years. I 
have been a breeder of pigeons for a long time and enjoy the work very much and I want to 
tell you that I have never seen better Homers anywhere, nor do I believe that better stock 
exists than the strain you sell. 

At the Worcester poultry show held in December, 1907, in Mechanics Hall, I entered 21 birds, 
nearly all your Homers, or bred from Homers sold by you. I had a few pigeons of another 
fancy variety in the show along with your Homer stock, but the Homers did nearly all of the 
prize winning. On the 21 birds I won 19 prizes, made up of 10 first prizes, five second prizes, 
three third prizes and one fourth prize. 

The birds were very much admired by the people in attendance at the exhibition. On one 
white Homer which came from you and on which 1 won first prize I was offered $5, but declined 
the offer. For another beautiful red checker Plymouth Rock female Homer which won me a 
first prize I was offered $5 by another exhibitor, but I declined the offer. The judge of the ' 
pigeons told me I ought to send these two birds to the Boston show in January, as they were 
" world beaters." Sometime I am going to enter my birds at the Boston show when 1 get 
around to it and can spare the time from my regular business. I am confident that I will make 
them " sit up and take notice." 

Your Homer stock is distinguished not only by the large size (which I have never seen equalled 
anywhere) but by their prolific breeding qualities. 

A good proportion of my birds are the red checkers, and I value them highly. None of the 
Worcester pigeon men has'birds aoproaching mine. In fact, there are two Englishmen in this 
city who have been breeders of birds all their lives and they told me that they never saw any that 
could equal my stock. A professional man of this city is a breeder of fancv pigeons well known 
over the United States. He entered some white Homers in competition at the Worcester poultry 
show mentioned above but my white Homers went way over anything which he had. 

These large Plymouth Rock Homers of which you have sold so many during the past ten years 
have completely driven the small native American Homer out of the market. The old breeders 
of these small native Homers have hated to admit that your Belgium stock was better than 
theirs, but anvbodv with half an eve can see that a Homer which is almost half as large again 
as were the best American Homers is to be preferred, not only for squab raising but for fancy 
breeding, for anvbodv who wants the best. The enormous popularity of your business in hand- 
ling this magnificent strain is well accounted for. — H. M. W., Massachusetts. 

FIRST AND SECOND PRIZES AT THIS WISCONSIN COUNTY FAIR. It was February 1, 
1907, when I got my first lot of Homers. They were the Extras. The pigeons are the largest 
and the best of their kind I ever saw. I would advise every new beginner to study the Manual 
before starting. I feed my birds two-thirds cracked corn to one^third red wheat in winter, 
two-thirds red wheat to one-third cracked corn in summer: dainties such as hemp seed, rice, 
peas, Kaffir corn and vetches. I have invented a little mill to crack corn. I bought some 
cracked corn but it was not half cracked. I can adjust mv mill to crack any size corn I want it 
to. I have chickens in the same yard with the pigeons and they get along good. Your Manual 
is the best it could be. I don't think it could be improved much. I haven't had any trouble 
with lice or sickness. I think we will send another order as soon as we can get a place ready for 
them. The squab business is O. K., as well as a paying business. My pigeons took first and 
second prizes at Ocotno County Fair, September 3, 4, 5. — E. G., Wisconsin. 

WON FOUR FIRST AND SECOND PRIZES AT TOPEKA, KANSAS, EXHIBITION. My 

birds that I got from vou are doing very nicely At the Topeka show I was awarded four first 
and second prizes out of 16 birds shown. I would have gotten another first, but I classed the 
bird wrong. The judge gave her first, but they looked on the judge's card and she was not undei 
that class. At the show, two of my Homers got out of the cage and alsoout of the hall. They 
were fine-looking birds and built for flying. They started east and that is the last I have heard 
of them.- F. L. K., Kansas. 

FIRST AND SECOND PRIZES WON BY PLYMOUTH ROCKS IN FLYING COMPETITION. 

I bought several pairs of your Homer stock about a year ago and am raising, and also flying 
those which I raised. I have also Belgiums which I flv, but the youn^ of your stock are equal. 
I can recommend your birds to anybody, and the flying club which I am in also know what 
they are. The last fly I made was 300 miles, at which I took first and second prizes on your 
stock. I thank you for sending me such quality of birds. W. J. K., Michigan. 

AGMN A SWEEP OF PRIZES AT ANOTHER NEW YORK COUNTY FAIR BY PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS. We had a county fair here and there was quite a large exhibition of fancy 
pigeons and a few Homers, but noo anv as nice as the ones that I had on exhibition. I took 
six nairs of old ones and five pairs of voung about eight weeks old to match the old ones. I 
got first and second premiu ms on all. — F. S. S., New York, 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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NINETEEN PRIZES "WON BY PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS AND CARNEAUX BY ONE 
CUSTOMER AT THE GREAT ROCHESTER (N. Y.) EXHIBITION IN 1908. I am flat in bed 

with pleurisy bur. I want to let you know about the Rochester Show. I got fifteen out of sixteen 
prizes, and also four specials; losing only one third prize to a cock from the New York Show. 
All of my prizes were won from adult stock bought of you, and young raised from them last year. 
As soon as I am able to be up and out I will write you more fully. Exctise looks of letter as I 
am writing in bed. (Later). There were three old cocks and three old hens which were re- 
cently bought by a Rochester man in New York. The birds were said to have been in the New 
York S'low and this man made his brag, that he got the birds to turn down the Lyons man, 
but mv birds were cooped first and when he brought in his Carneaux and cooped them near 
mine, he told the president of the show that he guessed he did not have much chance. He got 
one third prize. All the rest were thrown out. I got four first, four seconds, three thirds, four 
fourths and four specials. (One special on best cock in show, a pair of record Homers, one 
special on best hen and two minor specials.) The last pair you sent me got, cock first, hen 
second. My Carneaux are doing fine and I have quite a number of young mated and at work. — 
R. I. C, New York. 

PLYMOUTH ROCKS THE BEST HOMERS IN THREE STATES AT THIS BIG EXHIBITION. 
A NOVEL USE FOR PIGEON FEATHERS. I wish to thank you for suggestions offered, which 
enabled me to win first prize on Homer pigeons at the Tri-State Exposition and Livestock Show 
held at Chester, West Virginia, just across the Ohio river from our city. This was considered the 
best poultry and livestock show in this section of the country this season. Our local fanciers came 
o'l' fairly good considering the opposition we had. Three of the largest breeding farmers in this 
sectioi sent m a carload of poultry apiece. The second prize in Homers went to an Ohio man, 
one of the above mentioned breeders. I also got second on White Leghorn cockerel. My birds 
were shedding considerable, but I made good use of the long feathers as you will see by some 
enclosed advertising for the firm by which I am employed as well as for myself. Thev went 
like hot cakes after we got them started. Every one wore a feather. I don't know whether the 
value of this ever appealed_ to you or not, but I think that you could find ready sale for the 
light-colored feathers for this purpose. — S. E. A., Ohio. 

Note. What he did was to gather uo all the good-sized feathers lost in moulting and print 
them in red ink with a rubber stamp, " Welcome at Smith's," giving the name of the store where 
he worked. These stamped feathers were treasured as souvenirs. This idea could be used in 
other ways by squab breeders and the feathers handed out as advertisements. 

VICTORIOUS AT TWO NEW YORK STATE EXHIBITIONS. When I was in Boston a few 
months ago, I promised you I would let you know how I made out at our County Fair, but for 
some unknown reason I did not get at it. I entered at the fair six birds. Four Carneaux took 
four first prizes, two Homers two second prizes. 

_ I entered at Hudson Valley Pigeon and Poultry Association at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., seven 
birds, and won three firsts on Homers, two seconds on Carneaux. Did not enter my old Car- 
neaux or would have taken first on them. I have a fine Carneau cock that I think would be 
hard to beat, but the hen is not up to the mark. I think I will show the Carneaux at the New 
York Show.— J. R. V., New York. 

TOOK EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. WON EVERY PRIZE OFFERED FOR HOMERS WITH 
HIS PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS AT NEW YORK COUNTY FAIR. The Homers that I 
bought of you last September are doing fine. I would like to visit your plant a little later if 
it would be convenient for you. I am going for the purpose of looking over your plans and to 
purchase some more breeders. I have now about 60 pairs and want to get enough to make 125 
pairs. I entered those that I got of you at the Clinton County Fair at which I got every prize 
that was taken on Homers. — E. R. G., New York. 

ONE PAIR OF PLYMOUTH ROCKS GOOD ENOUGH IN VIRGINIA TO BEAT PROFES- 
SIONAL SHOW FOLLOWERS. The Plymouth Rock Homers you sent me have all been working. 
I carried one pair to the Roanoke Fair and received first premium over some Homer dealers 
from Pennsylvania. — F. E. H., Virginia. 

TOOK FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD PRIZES IN WEST VIRGINIA. My birds are beauties, 

and took first, second and third premiums at the Poultry Show here, and I, have been selling 
squabs right along that are fat and nice. — Miss G. E. K., West Virginia. 

WON THE SILVER CUP AT THIS MICHIGAN SHOW WITH HIS PLYMOUTH ROCK 
HOMERS. I have had six pairs in the show and won the silver cup. People said they were the 
best they ever saw. I sold two pairs for $5. — J. F. F., Michigan. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

261 




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262 



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FIVE PRIZES TAKEN BY PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS AT TENNESSEE POULTRY AND 
PIGEON SHOW. It would probably be of interest to you to know of my success with your 
Plymouth Rock Homers in our recent Poultry and Pigeon Show. I entered six of the eleven 
pairs that you sent me. I won two firsts, two seconds, and one third prize. The fine Homers I 
purchased from you won one, two, three, while two pairs of colored Homers that I raised from 
some birds bought of you won one, two. 

Those grand white Homers you shipped me attracted more attention and were admired by more 
people than all of the other birds in the show put together. They are superb. 

I placed the birds in my breeding pen at noon on Monday and on Friday afternoon four pairs 
had built nests and one pair had laid two eggs. 

The youngsters raised from some of your birds that I referred to before are only eight months 
old and have been at work three months. I am enthusiastic over Plymouth Rock Homers. — 
E. D. R., Tennessee. 

WON TEN PRIZES, TAKING ALL BUT ONE (A THIRD) WITH TEN PAIRS. At the North 
Adams Poultry Show I entered ten pairs of " exhibition Homers " made up largely from Ply- 
mouth Rock stock and was awarded five firsts, three seconds, one third, one fourth. I was 
" headed " but once and that was for a third place. The entries were made up of one pair reds, 
one pair red checkers, two pairs silvers, three pairs blue checkers and three pairs blue bars. — 
J. T., Massachusetts. 

PAIR OF PLYMOUTH ROCKS THE BEST PAIR OF HOMERS IN THE 1 908 TORONTO EX- 
HIBITION. Only one pair of those Plymouth Rock Homers_ which I purchased from you were 
exhibited at the fair but they took first prize. The judges in examining them commented on 
the perfect wings, only one little feather being wrong. I know nothing of the standard but you 
will doubtless know what they meant. — T. S. C, Ontario, Canada. 

PLYMOUTH ROCKS FIRST AS WELL AS SECOND AT THIS IOWA EXHIBITION. Our 
blue Plymouth Rock Homers took first and our silvers second at the show here. — C. D., Iowa. 



HAS BRED THOUSANDS OF SQUABS IN 
INDIA FROM PIGEONS POORER THAN 
OURS. About a month ago when staying 
in Chicago I made an inquiry for your cata- 
logue and about a week later I sent you 50 
cents for your National Standard Squab Book. 
I read your book with great interest and must 
say it is the best written instruction to the 
beginner that I ever saw. I have bred 
thousands of squabs in India, where I was 
born and came to America to start a squab 
farm here. Of course, the kind of pigeons 
we use over there is not as good as what we 
use here. I have succeeded in getting a fine 
farm in Missouri, a very dry, healthy climate. 
Tomorrow I am going to the place and when 
settled there about a month (this time I 
want to make the squab houses) I will send 
you an order. — V. K., Missouri. 

LONG SHIPMENT OF PLYMOUTH ROCK 
HOMERS ACROSS THE CONTINENT TO 
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND FROM THERE 
TO AUSTRALIA. I duly_ received your 
letter of May 12, and the birds came safely 
and in good order by the Dominion Express 
Company to Vancouver. You will be glad 
to know that they arrived safely at Mel- 
bourne on June 27. The Carneaux pecked 
three or four Plymouth Rock Homers, but 
today they are in splendid condition, having 
gone through the long, hot voyage very well. 
We, of course, looked after them on the 
steamer to see that the cage was kept clean 
and followed your instructions as to food, grit, 
etc. — Mrs. A. B., Australia. 



SQUAB MARKET WAITING TO BE 
DEVELOPED IN THE PROVINCE OF 
ONTARIO. The National Standard Squab 
Book has given me much satisfaction, pleas- 
ure and also a longing to get into the business. 
I am a poultry plucker, bench-hand, feeder, 
etc, employed by the largest wholesale live 
and dead poultry handlers here. I originally 
sent for your Manual not with the idea of 
starting to breed squabs, but to add to mv 
knowledge of feathered life. I found the 
book so interesting I have read it through 
several times and could answer correctly 
any question asked me from it. It is the 
most exhaustive treatise on the subject 
imaginable and I now consider myself an 
authority on pigeons. To show you how 
undeveloped the squab trade is here: I may 
say we do not receive proportionately one 
squab to every 100 chickens. — J. E., Ontario, 
Canada. 

IMITATION NEST BOWLS. I must sav 
my Plymouth Rocks are the best Homers I 
ever saw. Are the bowls as seen on page 48 
of the Manual what are known as the Rice 
Wood Fibre Nest Bowls? I must say that 
I like them very much better than what 
are sold here as " Rice Wood Fibre bowls," 
as the ones here are almost flat. — M. R. K.. 
Tennessee. 

Note. The genuine wood fibre nest bowls 
can be obtained only direct of us from Boston. 
We do not supply stores with them. If 
bowls are offered you in stores as ours, they 
are not. 



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A NEW JERSEY PLANT. 
This picture and the picture on the opposite page are both photographs of the same plant. 



HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW IS HAVING A 
PROFITABLE EXPERIENCE WITH PLY- 
MOUTH ROCK HOMERS. Yours dated 
November 20 was received this p.m. I 
shall be very much pleased to have the pair 
of birds as you suggest and will gladly pay 
transportation on the same. I do not con- 
sider you are under any obligation to " make 
good " under the circumstances, as I ap- 
preciate accidents will happen in transporta- 
tion, but since you make this offer I will 
greatly appreciate the favor. 

My brother-in-law, Mr. Merritt, has been 
telling me fabulous things of the squab 
industry, and I propose starting with the 12 
pairs, allrwing them to accumulate for two 
years, and determine positively the per- 
centage of increase, profit, etc. 

The birds Mr. Merritt purchased of you 
have certainly done wonderful work, and this, 
too, after being shipped to California and then 
to St. Louis. The birds you shipped me are 
truly very handsome, and feel sure they will 
do well. I have been breeding and shipping 
fancy poultry for the past 15 years. — R. W. B., 
Missouri. 

KNOWN BY REPUTATION. I know you 
by reputation to be the largest and most 
successful and reliable breeders in America, 
therefore, I am to buy stock from you and 
would be glad to have your prices. — H. C. M., 
Tennessee. 



MANUAL IS PREPARED EXPERIENCE. 

The birds I got from you are in every way 
larger and finer looking than any other 
Homers I have ever seen around here. Their 
squabs are larger at the hatch and incom- 
parably larger at maturity, or four weeks. 
They seem to be attentive birds and extra 
good feeders. I love the business and I love 
my birds. I have followed your Manual 
as regards feeding and watering and find that 
I get the best results. It seems to be just 
what it is, prepared experience for the bepin- 
ner. Mv policy was, if you don't know, refer 
to the Manual, and I always found that I did 
the right thing and very seldom if ever went 
wrong. — W. T., Virginia. 

PLEASANT BUSINESS RELATIONS. Our 

business relations have been so pleasant and 
satisfactory I will leave it entirely to your 
discretion in making me a present of a pair 
of Extra Homers. (Copy of your letter 
attached herewith explains all.) My birds 
are doing finely and I know your book by- 
heart and will follow it carefully all through. 
I will give you an order soon for more Extra 
breeders. — A. D. W., Kansas. 

ONE YEAR'S INCREASE. Your book 
is the best I have seen and is very satisfactory. 
Just one year ago I purchased 24 pairs of your 
Plymouth Rock Homers. Now I have 200 
young birds. I am well pleased with them. — 
W. A. L., Ohio. 



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ANOTHER VIEW OF NEW JERSEY PLANT. 
This breeder tells his story in a letter printed on this page over the initials B. F. B., New Jersey. 



REPEATED ORDERS FROM A NEW JERSEY CUSTOMER PLANNING TO HAVE 5000 
PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. On April 6, 1908, I received from you six pairs of Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers. On April 16, I received 13 pairs, and on May 9, 13 pairs more, the 
majority of each shipment being at work inside of a week after receiving them. Six pairs 
were laying on the second day after receipt. At the date of this writing (October 26) I have 
100 young birds, as fine as you can find anywhere. The birds received from you and the young 
hatched by them are not beatable around these parts. I have not as yet weighed any of the 
squabs, but from handling them know that they will weigh all that you claim. 

I have fed as your Manual directs and have not had any trouble from sickness or any sign 
of lice, as lam looking after my lofts at all times and keep perfectly clean By doing this no 
lice will linger around. I am more than satisfied with your business dealings, fair and square 
in all respects. I have just received from you 104 pairs of Extras, and they are beauties, the 
talk of the town. 

In the spring I expect to enlarge my plant so I can put in 5000 or 6000 birds, and you will 
have the order for stock, as I will know what I am getting. Thanking you for square dealing 
with me. 

I will send you next week the $150 for the two special offers and also give you shipoing date. 
All the birds received from you in the past have been O. K. in all respects, but if you have some 
that you think will go ahead of them I wish you would send them, as I think it will be the 
means of a large order for you. — B. F. B., New Jersey. 



PLEASED TO RECOMMEND PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS TO OTHERS. Replying 
to yours of July 31, in regard to our showing 
this gentleman around our plant, would say, 
that we will be pleased to do so. We feel 
sure he will not hesitate buying from you after 
he sees our birds for they are proof enough, 
to our minds, of your fair dealing. Permit 
us to say that it will be more convenient for 
us to show him around our place on some 
Sunday for then we are able to give him 
better attention. — L. O. N., New Jersey. 



EIGHT TO NINE PAIRS OF SQUABS A 
YEAR FROM EACH PAIR OF BREEDERS. 
The 10 pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers 

purchased from you some time ago are ail 
working very satisfactorily, averaging eight 
to nine pairs of squabs a year from each pair 
of breeders. — D. V. G., New Jersey. 

THIS IS THE RIGHT TALK. If at any 

time I can get you any business, you can 
count on my doing so. — D. D. C, North 
Carolina. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

265 




266 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



THIS MINNESOTA CUSTOMER IS A PROMINENT LAWYER "WITH A FINE FARM ON 
WHICH HE RAISES HIS OWN PIGEON FEED. The publication of my place in the St. 
Paul Press came about not upon my solicitation. All said is true enough and I doubt if I 
could improve it myself. Then I had the ranch and residence halftoned and stamped on 
envelopes and letter heads as per enclosed. 

Of course, I have so much to look after that I am not able to give the pigeons much attention, 
but find them " good to eat " and nice in appearance. We have no difficulty now in disposing 
of all the squabs we can produce in St. Paul and at home. We get only $3 per dozen which does 
very well here as the farms produce wheat, buckwheat, and corn enough for all the birds, 
horses, cows, hogs and chickens I have. This year I tried Canada peas with satisfactory 
results. 

Our main house is 58 feet long, 16 feet wide, with seven-foot posts. It rests upon a stone 
foundation with stone piers in the center supporting the sills, and is about two feet above the 
surface. Drop siding is used for weather boarding and matched fencing for inside lining. 
The space between the lining and drop siding is filledwith cinders. The floor is of two thickness 
of inch flooring and brake-jointed. Ten feet of this house is used as a storing room and for 
filling the drinking fountains. The building is supplied with heat and city water. There are 
six flying pens each eight feet wide, 10 feet high and 24 feet long, with roosts as shown in the 
picture and are covered with one-inch mesh wire number 18. The entire framework support- 
ing the wire rests upon concrete foundations four inches wide and let into the ground about one 
foot. Each loft contains 140 nests, 70 nests on each side, leaving a space in the center of six 
feet. An entrv way three feet wide extends along the entire north side of the building with a 
door opening into each pen. The small building_ is eight feet by ten feet with shed roof eight 
feet and five and one-half feet respectively in height. This is used as a mating pen, where an 
equal number of males and females are placed and when mated are banded and placed in 
larger lofts. The floor of each flying pen is covered with sand from four to eight inches deep. — 
H. W. M., Minnesota. 



ENLARGING AFTER AN EXPERIMENT 
WITH THREE PAIRS. I am now making 
preparations to occupy a new building in the 
spring, and as soon as I can scare up the 
money, I want to order more breeders and 
about 20 dozen nest bowls, as I expect to have 
a two-unit house besides the one now oc- 
cupied. I can't say enough about the breeders 
I bought of you. My first pair of squabs 
weighed two pounds, two ounces, the second 
pair two pounds, and by the looks of the 
third pair, I believe they will weigh more 
than any of the first ones. I am going to 
keep my young ones for breeders, also expect 
to add more of your stock in the breeding 
line. If I get my other house up, I can easily 
accommodate 150 pairs of breeders, and I 
want them just as fast as I can get them. 
I feed a little red wheat, Kaffir corn, millet 
and hemp-seed, buckwheat and barley and 
Canada peas. I have all told 10 kinds of 
feed, use the self-feeder for staples and my 
relishes I feed on a board with raised edges, 
which I remove from the pen after the birds 
have finished eating. — R. E. B., Pennsylvania. 

PLEASED WITH WHAT HE SAW AT 
MELROSE FARM. I write to let you know 
I was very much pleased with what I saw at 
your farm in Melrose and the treatment 
which I received from your superintendent, 
and shall send you another order for some 
more of your birds by spring, as they are all 
right. If you have any new literature, would 
you kindly send me the same , as I want_ to 
keep in touch with you in regard to anything 
that I can learn for my benefit. — C. H. H., 
Massachusetts. 



BETTER HOMERS THAN THIS FANCIER 
HAD IN HIS COOPS VALUED BY HIM AT 
TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS A PAIR. Since 
I wrote you Saturday I had a great pigeon 
raiser call upon me to ask the privilege of 
looking at my birds you sent. I asked him 
to express himself in a candid way as to his 
opinion of the quality and also if he had any 
finer birds. He replied, " Well, I have 
several kinds. Some I consider are worth 
$25 a pair, but I confess I have none that can 
hold a candle to those birds. They are 
extremely fine." He made strict inquiry 
about you and seemed wonderfully enthusi- 
astic and, on his leaving me, remarked he 
certainly would have to send for some of 
those birds. I just simply mention this to 
you _ for your credit. This is one of the 
parties I mentioned to you in my first letter 
I wrote you, asking you to send me some 
good birds, as I did not want to be laughed 
at. I think you will receive some orders 
from this part of the country, at least I am 
hoping so. — T. S., Illinois. 

RICH PEOPLE SURPRISED BY QUALITY 
OF PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUABS. Two 

years ago I bought 12 pairs of Plymouth 
Rock Homer pigeons of you with the intention 
of raising squabs for market. I have never 
lost but one of the old birds and now have 
a flock of 225 or 250. About 100 are just 
beginning to mate. I sold some of the squabs 
to a lady from New York who comes here for 
the summer, and her colored servant, who 
came to buy them, said they were the nicest 
ones he ever saw. The lady lives in an 
expensive part of the city. — W. R., Vermont. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

267 



ST. LOUIS PQST-DISPKTCH 



Greatest Banquet Ever Given in the West Will 

Be That at the Coliseum Saturday 

Night 






When hungry Kepubl leans, who have 
been^crowded away from the political 
pie counter; in Missouri for 38 years, 
gather' fc>f their banquet at the Coli- 
seum, Saturday night, they will fare 
the, greatest quantity of food ever 
served at a single eating rest in the 
West. 

There' will be seated in the great din- 
tog room 2266 Republicans. They" will 
occupy 78 tables, &nd' 225 waiters have 
been engaged to sfcrve them. 

•Lyman T. Hay o'f the Jeffersou" and 
Planters hotels, who has undertaken to 
satisfy the appetites of the hungry 1 Re- 
publicans, has ordered food in. the fol- 
lowing quantities: 

225 gallons' of soup 

1200 pounds of fish. 

1000 pounds filet ^"Treef 

2266 squabs. 

2500 large rolls of bread. 

200 loaves of bread. 

700 bunches of radishes. 

200 bunches of celery. 

65 gallons -of olives. 

10 boxes ' of lettuce. 

10 boxes of chicory. 

10 boxes of tomatoes. 

30 dozen -.bunches 4 of parsley. 

30 cases of lima beans; 

60 gallons of coffee. 

25 sacks of potatoes. 

100 gallons of Ice cream, with, large 
Quantities of assorted cakes. 

Sixty Cooks to Cook It. 

Early Saturday morning 60 cooks an<i 




helpers will be set to work In an lrff- 
mense temporary, kitchen in the base-, 
ment of the ' Coliseum to prepare trie 1 " 
great feast. They expeel liOiaVoitfae dlhC 
oer. ready for serving -when the guests 
are. seated at 6 p.Xtli, sharp. The 225 
waiters will be divided into two squads, 
and will work from each' end of the 
arena toward the centeV. 

It is expected that it will require from 
90 to 105 minutes to serve the meal. Mr. 
Hay-iaffeaving the tables' made, and will 
procure the 2266 chairs needed, ; and have 
them sent to the Coliseum before, the 
dinner bell is tapped. 

Mr,:Hay;ls assls'^d;,by'-J. 'I5:-Telliriany' 
'Who'witf^be the ^^fral^uperintendertt'' 
at the banquet hall; Max McCurlee, who 
will have charge of the service, and 
Kred Laufgatter, chief engineer of the 
Planters Hotel, who will arrange for 
the heating service and gas stove con- 
nections. 

West's Biggest Banquet. 

Mr. Hay says that the banquet Will 
be the biggest ever given 'In the' West 

The guests of' honor and the speakers 
will be seated at the head table, on 
which 62 plates witl be laid. Gbv.-elect 
Hadley will be the principal guest of 
honor. Jeptna D. Howe, chairman of 
the Republican City Committee, will be 
the toastmaster. The banquet is being 
given by the Republican City Commit- 
tee to celebrate the victory in this State. 
All of the leading Missouri Republicans 
have been Invited. 



HUNDREDS OF SQUABS EATEN AT ONE BANQUET. 

The above clipping from the St. Louis Post Dispatch printed in November, 1908, shows what St. Louis 
people think of squabs. Squabs are certainly being eaten in the West. To provide the 2266 squabs which were 
eaten at this banquet would take one year's output of a plant of 150 pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers. 



268 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




MISSISSIPPI SQUAB HOUSE. 

The house is 14x26 feet and the flying pen 20x26 feet 11 feet high. There are two galvanized iron bath pans 
in the flying pen with water piped to each. The drinking fountain is inside tiie squab house and is made of six 
one inch T's put together with nipples, making the whole eight feet long with water running through it all the 
time, and the T's nearly full. This gives them plenty of fresh drinking water all the time and it cannot be fouled 
by the birds. The house has 76 egg crates for nest boxes and can take forty more when needed. The white line 
seen at the back of the pic: ure is a much traveled shell roadway and the birds are much admired by passers-by. 
Of course it is not necessary 10 build a squab house so warm in Mississippi as in the North. 



NINETEEN PAIRS INCREASED IN TWO YEARS TO FIVE HUNDRED BIRDS WITHOUT 
SPECIAL INSTRUCTION AND WITHOUT SYSTEM. 1 never had one of your Manuals. I 
merely put the 19 pairs of pigeons I first got from you about two years ago in a house 12 feet 
square and about 9 feet high, with a flying pen 20 feet by 12 feet by 9 feet, and have let them 
be there ever since. I have now about 500 birds and a nicer bunch of birds I have never seen. 
They are very much crowded at this time and many of the young are being killed by the push. 
I have now let contract for larger quarters and expect to remate the flock (if such a thing is 
advisable), and have separate pens, thus dividing the flock, and I am very anxious to get all the 
information possible s<~> that I will make no more mistakes. I enclose 50 cents in stamps for 
the Manual. There are three or four persons in town who have small flocks of pigeons and they 
sell squabs at $1.50 a dozen, but they are small and mixed breeds, and do not have enough to 
supply the wants of the people. We have not as yet sold any squabs, but expect to charge at 
least ^3 a dozen. We have a start now and my brother is going to help with the birds and we 
feel that there is a nice income ahead of us. I have been closely confined to my office duties, 
thus the birds in the past have been neglected. — G. J. G., Kansas. 



RAISED A FINE FLOCK FROM A FEW. 

I visited a friend of mine in Erie, Pennsyl- 
vania, last week (August) and he showed 
me a fine flock of pigeons that he has raised 
from 12 he bought from you in the spring. 
Will you kindly send me prices for six pairs 
and 12 pairs, also illustrations and _ different 
kinds you have. — B. K., Pennsylvania. 

FIVE TIMES BETTER THAN COMMON 
PIGEONS. The three pairs of Plymouth 
Rock Homers are doing as much as the 15 
pairs of common pigeons I had . in the same 
quarters last summer. — G. S., Wisconsin. 



BREED RAPIDLY IN FLORIDA. The birds 
received from you have done extra fine. 
Our stock has more than doubled already. 

Enclosed find check for which send by 
freight 100 pounds of your health grit, 100 
pounds of oyster shells, 100 pounds mixri 
pigeon grain, and two dozen nest bowls — 
J. D. C, Florida. 

NO MORTALITY. I have followed youi 
Manual's instructions to the letter and have 
never lost a bird, when once out of the nest, 
and only three squabs, and they were only 
two or three days old. — W. O., New Jersey. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

269 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




A MASSACHUSETTS PLANT- 
For description see title underneath cut on opposite page. 

COMMON PIGEONS IN UTAH FOUND A POOR INVESTMENT IN COMPARISON WITH 
PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. I recently purchased one of your Manuals and find in it a 
world of very valuable information. I have at present a pen of 300 common pigeons which are 
profitable, as I dispose of all the squabs I can raise at $3 per dozen. A friend of mine who 
purchased some of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers some time ago gave me six pairs of his 
birds, and I must say they are the greatest workers I have ever seen. My common birds are for 
sale, as the Homers have taken their place in my estimation, one pair of your stock to three pairs 
of common. As soon as I can dispose of the birds I now have (except my pen of Homers) you 
can depend on a good-sized order from me for your stock. I will also want a few pairs of the 
Carneaux you so highly recommend. If they beat your Homers they must be great workers. 
I put the Homers in a separate house with eight-foot flying pen on the second of July last and 
at present date, November 7, they have raised 34 young and four pairs are again with eggs. 
I have considerable trouble in getting proper grains, that is, Kaffir corn, hemp seed, Canada 
peas, as no one here handles them. Will you kindly inform me as to where I may purchase 
same, and if not too much trouble qtiote prices. I hope to be able to dispose of my common 
stock and replace same with your fine birds. — G. S. W., Utah. 

BURNED OUT, BUT STARTS A NEW 
FLOCK. Please send me a catalogue of your 
best stock. I bought some Extra Plymouth 
Rock mated birds about a year ago of you, 
but lost all in a fire which burned the pigeon 
house down. I made good money on them 
and liked them for pets very much and I 
wish to stock up again. — J. R., Missouri. 



EIGHT PAIRS OUT OF NINE QUICKLY 
AT WORK. Recently my son received nine 
pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and 

it is his wish that I notify you of their safe 
arrival and that he is well pleased with them. 
Eight of the nine pairs are at work. In fact 
he has a dozen young, and eggs to hatch. — 
S. P. T., Missouri. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

270 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




ANOTHER VIEW OF MASSACHUSETTS PLANT. 

The customer whose main plant we illustrate on this page and the preceding page lives not far from our Melrose 
farm. His building has been erected after our plans and is a duplicate of our own buildings with slight variations. 
One of these variations is ventilators in the roof, an excellent idea. The ventilators in our own houses are at the 
ends of the houses, which genera.ly serve well, but on very hot days in summer we have felt the need of additional 
ventilators in the roof as this customer has built them. He has room enough in the cellar of his house to grow 
mushrooms and rhubarb. The rhubarb grows fast and to great size. This customer grows rhubarb five feet high 
in the dark in such a place and there is a good market for it. He is a market gardener and understands how to 
utilize the under part of his squab house in this manner. He heats this house and the cellar under it with a hot 
water plant. If any of our customers wish to put in hot water heaters, write us and we will give you the benefit 
of our experience. We have tried three kinds of heaters at our Melrose plant, in fact we have three different kinds 
in use there now and have learned something about the different makes and can give helpful advice on this subject. 



HALF-INCH MESH "WIRE NETTING OVER THE SILLS TO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR 
RATS TO GNAW THROUGH. I got birds from you last summer, two shipments of the Extra. 
What do you ask for them now, as I want to get some? Your birds are fine and doing well. 
I have nearly 1000 birds and have a fine place, building 130 feet long, 14 feet wide, cut into 
units, south front, matched lumber outside and in. I used a certain building paper all over 
outside, tar paper inside. I intend to raise 10,000 birds and put up more buildings. Hog rings 
are the thing to use to weave the wire netting. I put fine wire netting, half-inch mesh, one foot 
wide, the entire length of building on the joist over the sills before floor is put down. No rats 
can get in. — F. E. B., Iowa. 

FOUR HUNDRED PAIRS BRED FROM SIXTEEN PAIRS PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN 
THREE YEARS, AND 700 SQUABS SOLD. I purchased 16 pairs Plymouth Rock Homers 
from your company in July, 1905. I have about 800 birds now (October, 1908). I have sold 
about 700 squabs, nearly all for $3.50 per dozen, but of late I have had hard luck with rats. 
They have not been breeding well for about two months. I have lost quite a number from 
going light and dumping around. I thought perhaps they needed some of your health grit or 
something of that kind and I enclose an order for your health grit. — H. S., Michigan. 



BETTER THAN OTHERS. Last spring 
I bought 52 pairs of Plymouth Rock Extra 
Homers from you and like them better than 
any I have. They have done better than 
birds I paid more for, and I want to get some 
more of them, but I have no room. I want 
to sell 100 pairs which I bought in Connecticut. 
C. B., Connecticut. 



RAPID BREEDING IN VIRGINIA CLI- 
MATE. One or two of my pairs lay every 
seven weeks. The others all do better. 
One pair lays every month. The squabs 
that I raise average one pound. I feed 
mostly corn, wheat, barley, and small grains 
of whole corn. Sometimes I crumble up 
toast for them. — P. S., Va. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

271 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




CALIFORNIA SQUAB HOUSE. 
The breeder is doing very well in this unimposing place. 

SQUABS SELLING BRISKLY FROM A LARGE FLOCK OF PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN 
CALIFORNIA. I have 30 pairs in a pen and can count 24, 26 and 30 nests in a pen, so that 
is speaking well for Plymouth Rock Homers. I have raised only 20 pairs from them for breeders, 
as there is a big demand for squabs. If I had $3000 I would put $2000 of it into Plymouth Rock 
Homers. — W. I., California. 



MANUAL PROVEN TRUE BY EXPERI- 
ENCE. 1 recommend your firm and addressed 
an envelope to you yesterday morning for a 
man over in Calhoun, Tennessee, just over 
the river from Charleston. I think you will 
land him as a customer'. I like your Manual 
very much as I take it alongside my ex- 
perience with your birds. The simple truth 
shines forth on every page, and if there is 
any criticism I can offer, it is pertaining to 
the limited index, which is not really a fault 
for in searching for a certain point one reviews 
points that he cannot know too well. — 
P. E. O.. Tennessee. 

Note. It is a good idea to have a sheet of 
paper handy when studying this manual and 
jot down points which appeal to you, with the 
page number so that you can turn to the mat- 
ter when necessary. In this manner each 
reader builds an index of his own. 



EVERY PAIR AT WORK IN THREE 
WEEKS FROM DELIVERY. On July 29 
the Plymouth Rock Extras reached us. We 
put them into the pijeon house immediately 
and were more than surprised at the readiness 
with which they adapted themselves to their 
new surroundings. We are delighted and 
are planning to order more birds just as soon 
as we have a place ready for them. Our 
boy would like to know how our record 
compares with others. Every pair at work 
in three weeks time. Is that equal to the 
usual standard? — E. S., Pennsylvania. 

TRIED THEM ONE YEAR AND WANTS 
MORE. Please send me price-list of the 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I bought 
some of you a year ago and I like them fine. 
I wish some more at the same price. — L. V., 
Illinois. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

272 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




SMALL OPENINGS UNDER THE WINDOWS. 

This photograph of the pi ant of a Pennsylvania breeder, shows small openings from wrfich boards extend to the 
ground. In winter weather or at any time when it is not desired to open the closed windows, this small opening 
in each pen can be used. Some breeders have a rope and pulley attached to the slide of such an opening manage 
the opening and closing by pulling on the rope from the passageway, and do not have to enter the squab house. 

OLD TWO-ROOM COTTAGE CONVERTED INTO A SQUAB HOUSE. BEST BIRDS IN 
15 YEARS' EXPERIENCE. After having so many letters from you, reading your Manual 
and then looking at your photo, I really feel that I am well acquainted with you. I received 
your last letter several days ago and would have written you sooner, but for a rush in business. 
I am highly pleased with all the birds purchased from you and especially the last shipment you 
made me. Those birds are the very handsomest I have ever seen and have been admired by 
every one that has seen them. They are getting down to work now. My house and pen cost 
me very little and yet I have almost an ideal home for my birds. Away back in my garden I have 
an old two-room cottage with gable roof covered with shingles. This I have turned into a home 
for my birds. The rooms are about 10 by 10 and eight feet high, or maybe a little larger. One 
of them I have almost filled with nest boxes (as you make them) and the other I keep for feed, 
etc. My pen is 24 feet long, 12 feet wide and about 18 feet high, taking in one side of the roof. 
In your Manual you do not recommend using the roof, but I have gone against you in this 
one thing and am allowing mine to enjoy the roof. I do not use poles of any kind in my pen. I 
have three running boards all the way around and find that much better thanthe poles. The 
floor of the flying pen is covered with good coarse sand taken from an island in the river here 
and I feed them as you direct in your Manual. 

I have raised birds for the last 15 years, but have never had such success as I am now having. 
I keep them more for pleasure than anything else, but of course later on will begin selling 
off a few. Dr. Robinson tells me that he is meeting with success also. He has asked me several 
times to go down and see his birds, but I live way out of town and hardly ever stop around 
his place. Anything I can do for you in the way of directing a customer to you I will gladly 
do. As I have written you before, it is a pleasure to do business with you. Dr. Robinson made 
the same remark to me several days ago. F. E. M., Virginia. 



FIRST PURCHASE LEADS TO A SECOND. 

Enclosed find remittance for which please 
send your special offer No. 1. For your 
information, I will say that the birds I pur- 
chased of you have done well and of course 
their record recommends you to me for more. 
I quote you to my customers and friends. 
We have five pens and will keep this lot 
separate to note their points, for we are 
trying for 2000 pairs and as fast as money 
comes to us we will buy. — G. B. D., Alabama. 



FAIR METHODS. It is certainly a pleas- 
ure to do business with your firm. I must 
express myself at the fairness of your methods. 
I wish you success and assuring you you will 
hear from me again. — L. L. J., Pennsylvania. 

RAPID REPRODUCTION IN ILLINOIS. 

The 15 pairs I got from you in the spring have 
done finely. I have raised (September) 
about 50 pairs of young ones. They are all 
very good. — B. F., Illinois. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

273 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




A PAIR OF SQUABS FROM PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. 
These squabs weigh a pound apiece as you see them on the platter. 



IN TWO AND ONE-HALF YEARS THIS ILLINOIS CUSTOMER BRED A FLOCK OF 650 
FROM 12 PAIRS EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS, ALSO SELLING SQUABS. On 

March 13, 1906, I ordered 12 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I kept a record of 
them all the first year and found the best pair hatched the tenth pair of squabs on April 11, 1907, 
the average being nearly seven pairs of squabs to each pair of breeders. I consider this pretty 
good for the first year. 

In the winter and spring of 1907, I built a new loft 50 feet long, 12 feet wide, divided into 
five pens with orange crates which I used for nests. Each pen has a wire run 10 x 20 feet, 
facing the south. The whole building is covered with roofing. I now (October, 1908) have 650 
birds altogether. About 400 of them are mated and I presume the rest of them will be mated by 
next spring. The first ten squabs raised from your birds I sold for $1 each when about six 
weeks old to a party here who was very anxious to buy them. Since then I have been keeping 
all the choicest squabs for breeders and the smallest squabs I have been shipping to market with 
the squabs of the common pigeons which we have breeding squabs around the barns. The 
last two months I have been shipping all of the squabs to the Chicago market, as I now have 
birds enough for_my building capacity. My intention is to sell squabs for a while, then I may 
put up more buildings and start on a larger scale if everything looks satisfactory. I am at 
present getting from $2 to $2.50 per dozen for the squabs from the commission men in Chicago. 
In some of the large hotels they are paying forty cents each for squabs weighing 9 to 10 pounds 
to the dozen. I have not started to sell to the hotels yet. My best squabs weigh about 10 
pounds to the dozen. 

Corn and wheat are the staple articles of feed, and twice a week I feed Kaffir corn, Canada 
peas, buckwheat, hemp and some barley. For nesting material I use tobacco stems and there- 
fore have not had any trouble with lice or vermin. 

Your birds are the largest I have seen as I have been to other squab raisers near here. If 
ever any time I purchase more birds, it will be from your plant. — E. M., Illinois. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

274 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



EXPERIENCED PIGEON RAISER PAYS A HEARTY TRIBUTE TO THE DEMONSTRATED 
SUPERIORITY OF PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS On seeing one of your advertisements 
I was induced to send for your free squab book and other literature to the extent of purchasing 
one of your Manuals. I am always eager to learn of new methods in the pigeon business and 
to give a little time experimenting upon " claimed-to-be" better stock. On receiving your 
publications I began to carefully scan them to see what new thought or idea I might glean 
from them. In some instances I thought you were making rather extravagant claims, as most 
advertisements generally do. They praise some of the most worthless articles to the highest 
notch, leading folks to purchase something in which they are very often sorely disappointed. 

This is not so in your case, for of all the claims you have made for your birds, I can truthfully 
say the " half has never been told." In my opinion there are no better. They are as perfect 
a piece of squab machinery as nature can create and man improve upon. 

How well I am pleased with the birds I bought of you is well attested by the fact that I 
am enclosing another order for more of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. 

In July, 1907, I sent my first order. They were the largest Homers that had ever been in 
my neighborhood, as many persons who came to see them attested. Within less than three 
weeks after I had placed them in my lofts they had accustomed themselves to the place, several 
pairs had laid and set. With machine-like regularity they have given me a pair of eggs on an 
average of every five and one-half weeks. I do_ not mean to say that they have given me a 
pair of squabs for every pair of eggs laid. The difference between the eggs laid and the squabs 
hatched from them has been so slight that a harsh critic cannot find fault. Some of my first 
pairs of squabs from your birds have already laid and set. 

I have not allowed any sickness or lice to invade my lofts; I believe the vitality of your birds 
is of such strength that with little care and proper feeding one need never have any fear of them. 

I have been very careful as to how I have fed them. My plan of feeding is as follows : Wheat 
and corn are my main feed. Each day I feed a relish. Sunday hemp, Monday Canada peas, 
Tuesday Kaffir corn, Wednesday millet, Thursday hemp, Friday Kaffir corn, Saturday I feed 
a grain which I obtain from my dealer called vetches; the birds relish this very much. 

I feed whole corn at all times as most of the cracked corn we get is of an inferior sort, some- 
thing which could hardly be sold in the whole grain. My feeding plan may seem a little expen- 
sive, but I am after results and as the birds are giving me those results, I feel that they are 
amply repaying me for my trouble. One cannot expect to get out of pigeons what they do not 
put into them, so with poor feeding one can expect but poor results. I am more than satisfied 
with the quantity and quality of the squabs they have given me. My squabs weigh from 
12 ounces to 16 ounces apiece, as fat and juicy as they can be. I have some which were ready 
to be killed in 25 days. 

I have had one bad experience since I have had your birds. On one occasion I was unable 
to obtain necessary grain from my regular feed dealer, so I had to purchase of another who 
sent me some inferior stuff. My squabs began to show the difference in that they were not 
so plump and fat. I soon discarded this and my squabs went back to their original size. Dur- 
ing the moulting period your birds showed no visible signs of their being affected by it save 
the loss of feathers. They appeared as though there was no strain attached to it. During 
the cold weather they have done equally as well as in the warm weather. 

It is not my intention to lead any one into believing that all he has to do is to purchase Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers, put them into his loft regardless of care and proper feeding, and they will 
prove a success. But I do claim that with little care they will give the same if not better 
results than they have given me. I have sold some of my squabs for as high as one dollar a pair, 
and got as high as $5.50 a dozen for some. 

My opinion of the squab business is that it is yet in its swaddling clothes with every indication 
of a successful growth. The demand for the large, plump squab is daily increasing. Breeders 
with such stock as the Plymouth Rock are the onlyones who will be able to supply this demand. 
I have the greatest of hope in the business. It is one of the greatest investments of today. 
In my opinion there are but a few honest investments which give better returns for money, 
at least I have found none better. 

I am in the squab business now as a side issue. I look for it in the near future to pay me 
larger returns than the salary I am now getting, which is $1100 a year. 

My present plant is composed of three lofts with a capacity of nearly 300 pairs of birds. 
I have other Homers than yours and have compared the two to see which give the better 
results. I must confess that I have A No. 1 birds, but yours excel them by far in the number 
and size of squabs. 

I shall in a little while have only your birds on hand as I have already learned that they 
are in a class by themselves and as an investment no stock can equal them. Enclosed find 
my order, wishing you much suc:ess. — H. N. B., District of Columbia. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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SQUAB BUILDING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 

This looks like a view in tropical Florida but it is not; quite the opposite It is the plant of one of our customers 
in Northwest Canada, British Columbia, being on the edge of a clearing the foreground showing underbrush- 
There is an excellent market for squabs in British Columbia, same as everywhere else. 

CANADIAN MARKET GROWING. NO HOMERS IN THIS ONTARIO TOWN TO COMPARE 
WITH HIS. SQUABS WORTH $3.50 A DOZEN. The first part of October, 1907, I ordered 
one dozen pair of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and was surprised at the promptness of your 
shipment. But I had everything ready and liberated the birds in their new home. As it was 
their moulting season when I received them, they did not lay for nearly four weeks, but when 
they did begin they worked like Trojans. One pair has laid 12 eggs iu the six months I have 
had them, and I had a pair of squabs that weighed over two pounds, 28 days oid. The market 
quotations give such and such a price for squabs weighing 10 pounds to the dozen, but do not 
quote 11 and 12-pound squabs. I am confident that with care in selecting breeders from your 
stock, one could get squabs up to 10-pound mark every time. There are no birds in town to 
compare with mine. Everybody that sees them comments on their trim, business-like appearance. 

I have gained a little experience now, and intend building pigeon houses to accommodate 
about 400 breeding pairs. If things continue as thev are now, I mav go into the business for a 
living. _Your Manual has helped me a great deal. Before I read it I knew practically nothing 
about pigeons, but now I pride myself as being a fairlv good amateur. I am offered $3.50 per 
dozen for killed squabs, but am keeping mine for breeding purposes. Our Canadian market is 
not so good as the American market, but Canadians are fast learning what good eating sauabs 
are, and in a few years the market will be much better I have had some experience with hens, 
and know how hard it is to raise a flock successfully, but hens are not to be compared with your 
pigeons for money-making and simplicity of raising. 

I have had no sickness in my flock and haven't seen a sign of lice. I sprav the penwith 
diluted carbolic acid and clean it out every two weeks. I think no one would have lice in his 
flock if he keot his pens clean. I do not use the self-feeder at present, but will when my flock 
increases. I think it is a first-cl iss affair. Your Manual includes and explains everything from 
the gravel on the ground of the flving pen to the roof on the pigeon loft. I can honestly recom- 
mend your stock to any one going into the squab industry and wish you every success. — G. L., 
Ontario, Canada. 



SHOWING A PROFIT. Pigeons are doing 
well. They are more than paying for them- 
selves. — E. W., Missouri 



A GOOD WORD. I will always speak, a 
good word for your kind treatment and your 
fine birds. — J. M. H., South Carolina. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



PROFIT OF $2 ON EACH PAIR OF BREEDERS. COST OF FEED, 75 CENTS A PAIR A 
YEAR. In January, 1907, 1 got the idea of raising squabs. -1 saw your advertisement in the 
Reliable Poultry Journal, answered it, got your free book, then sent 50 cents for your Manual. 
After reading it, I started to fix up an old building for squabs. After fixing the builaing 
which was a cheap one, my squab house had no floor and the roof was poor, but in this dark 
and damp place I have never had a sick bird, but I am now so interested in the business that I 
am building a unit house according to your plans. After the old building was rigged into a 
squab house, I sent in my order for three pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, and when they 
arrived I was much satisfied with them. On the fifth day, two pairs began nesting and within 
a week I had four eggs. Within the next few days the other pair went to work. Not knowing 
much about the habits of the birds, I put in most of my time watching them. I became very 
interested and the next month sent you an order for six pairs. Since then, a year ago, they 
have done so well that in the future I am going to make it a business. I have bought nine pairs 
in all and now have 40 pairs that are working, and 52 young. The birds I have raised from 
your birds are as fine a lot as I have ever seen. 

I have had many calls for breeders and have refused as high as $4 a pair. I have sold a few 
dozen squabs to a few families for $3.50 per dozen. I got them started and they are after them 
all the time, but I do not care at present to sell at all, as I am increasing my flock. I have 
weighed the squabs and find they average 10 pounds to the dozen. I am sure I can make a 
profit of $2 on each pair of breeding birds. I have kept close account of the feed and it will 
not exceed 75 cents per pair, per year. 

I have followed your Manual and think it a good teacher. I don't think I could get along 
without it. I use the self-feeder and drinking fountain and your nest bowls. I am now feeding 
as follows: Corn and wheat in self-feeder, four parts corn and one part wheat. The other 
grains I feed like this: Monday millet, Tuesday barley, Wednesday Kaffir corn, Thursday 
Canada peas, Friday buckwheat, Saturday broken rice, Sunday hemp seed. I find the birds 
like this manner of feeding and they become tame. They will be waiting for you at feeding 
time and fly about you, lighting on your shoulders. I use the lump salt, grit and oyster shells. 

I cannot say too much for the squab business. It is way ahead of poultry — not so much 
work, no young to take care of, and not so much danger of lice. I have never had a louse in 
the squab house. I will say this in comparing squabs with poultry, first compare the advantages 
and disadvantages of the growing of market squabs and market poultry. To my mind the 
former is to be preferred. The work is lighter and the details of the business not so great. 
The profits are larger for the amount of time and money invested. Artificial incubation and 
brooding, which is quite a study in the poultry business, has no part in the squab business, 
as the parents attend to all these details and do it better than man possibly could. All the 
labor is performed under one cover. In fact, a big plant can be easily established under a 
single roof. There is no loss from hawks or wild animals. After having experience with both 
I have decided that for the man who has not the best of health and is limited for land, the squab 
business offers better opportunities than the raising of market chickens or ducks. The first 
thing for the beginner is to get the very best breeders and follow your Manual as nearly as 
possible and he will come out on top. I am satisfied with my success and will continue to the 
end. You will please find my order for birds and supplies. — F. L., Illinois. 

FLORIDA EATS THOUSANDS OF DOZENS THIRTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE. Re- 

OF SQUABS IN THE WINTER MONTHS. ceived your Manual and as far as I have gone 

The manager of the f^yal Poinciana Hotel I find it up to the minute in every respect. 

of St Augustine, in response to my query I have learned a number of things about 

as to the demand for birds, said he saw no pigeons in it that I did not know before, and 

reason why his company could not use I think I am pretty well posted on pigeons, 

several hundred dozen each week, that they as I have raised them, both common and 

would like to see more pigeon farms in fancy, off and on for the past 30 years, but 

Florida. I want to go South the first of next only for pleasure. Now I think I will go 

month and by the last of the month or the into it for profit, in a small way at first, but 

first of November have the birds there so expect to increase my flock from time to 

as to put some squabs on the market in time, as I have the money to spare. — J. C. M., 

December. — H. B. J., Indiana. Ohio. 

Note. The Royal Poinciana above men- 
tioned is only one of a chain of Flagler hotels DEMONSTRATION OF EXCELLENCE. 
along the East Coast of Florida and squabs My Extra Plymouth Rock Homers are doing 
are eaten in all of them first rate. I am now at present increasing 

my flock as I see that the pigeon business 

TEXAS REFERENCE. If any one wants far surpasses the poultry business. Please 

to know anything about your square dealings, send me a price list of your open leg bands 

etc., you have my permission to refer him to with three initials and number on. — L. C. W., 

me. — R. S., Texas. Illinois. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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This breeder 
whose plant is 
pictured at the 
lsft lives in a 
thickly- settled 
residential neigh- 
borhood in Wash- 
ington, D. C. The 
building in which 
his pigeons are 
kept is at the rear 
end of his resi- 
dence lot. It is a 
two-story brick 
buiiding 20x40 
feet and contains 
two hundred nest 
boxes. The two 
windows have a 
southern expos- 
ure. The flying 
pen, 10x12 feet by 
16 feet high, takes 
in only one win- 
dow. He has bred 
Carneaux here. 
He has bred all 
kinds of pigeons, 
he says, but has 
never seen such 
breeders as our 
Carneaux. He has 
bred youngsters 
from our birds 
weighing nineteen 
and t h r e e-quar- 
ters ounces when 
twenty days old. 



A CITY SQUAB HOUSE. 

TWO YOUNG WOMEN TOO BUSY MAKING MONEY WITH SQUABS AND CHICKENS TO 
WRITE A LONG LETTER. Please excuse our delay in writing you as we are busy most every 
minute of the day raising chickens for our winter layers, and they cause more work than the 
pigeons, but we thought the two were a good combination, as we can sell everything we can 
raise. There is a great demand here for squabs, and ours are fine, if I do say it myself. 

We are very much pleased with the last lot you sent. They are beauties. All our birds are 
good workers. 

Sometime in the near future we will write and give you a little of our experience since we 
have started in the squab business. This time of year is a busy one for us, getting everything 
going for the winter when prices are the highest. We are having much better success this year 
than last. Excuse this delay and we will write later. — Miss H. L. A. and Miss E. E. S. 



FOUR DOLLARS AND EIGHTY CENTS A DOZEN FOR SQUABS IN SPOKANE. INSIST- 
ENT DEMAND. The market for squabs here (Spokane) is good, and I am getting 40 cents apiece 
for squabs. The demand is more than the squab raisers can furnish. I thought I would take a 
sample of your birds, and they surely have proven good. — M. M., State of Washington. 

CANNOT SUPPLY THE DEMANDS FOR SQUABS IN THIS ALABAMA TOWN. My pigeons 
are getting along fine. I cannot very well supply the demands here for squabs and may have to 
order more Plymouth Rock Homers soon. Please write me at once as I would like to order as 
soon as possible. — C. N., Alabama. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



LARGE AND PROFITABLE FLOCK BREEDING HIGHEST-GRADE SQUABS, DEVELOPED 
IN TWO YEARS FROM A PURCHASE OF ONLY SEVEN PAIRS. In the early part uf 1906 
I Decame interested in squab raising. After reading a great deal on the subject, and especially 
the " National Standard Squab Book," written by Elmer C. Rice of the Plymouth Rock Squau 
Co., I concluded to try my hand at the business, not so much fo.: profit as for relief from the 
confining work of my profession. I was fully convinced that I would find the work not only 
profitable but most enjoyable. 

I immediately set to work, at odd times, to fit up for a squab loft the upstairs of a small 
barn on the south end of a city lot upon which my residence is located. At the present time 
I have the upstairs of this barn divided into two breeding pens with one flying pen to the west 
and another one to the north. In order to give my birds plenty of sunshine, I built my north 
flying pen as high as the eaves of the barn. By so constructing it the birds can have sunshine 
the entire day. 

In February, 1906, I bought of the Plymouth Rock Squab Company the first pigeons I have 
ever owned, consisting of seven mated pairs of as fine Homers as can be found in any loft. 
All but one pair of these were prolific breeders. From one of these pairs I have raised 37 squabs' 
averaging in weight about 13 ounces each. 

Although I have a few times bought elsewhere a pair of pigeons that suited my fancy as to 
color, etc., I have failed to find any better ones than those mentioned above. 

I have one of _ your banding outfits with which I make open aluminum bands. Just before 
the youngsters intended for breeders leave the nest, I place on them one of these bands. I 
keep a very careful record of each one of these intended breeders. From this record I can trace 
the origin of any of the breeders which I have raised back to their oldest ancestors in my loft. 
This record and my mating coop have enabled me to avoid inbreeding. 

As a result of the splendid stock of birds with which I started, proper mating and the best 
of care, I now (July, 1908,) have a flock of nearly 250 exceptionally good Homers. A finer flock 
I have never seen. Nearly all of them are mated and doing good work. 

From this flock I have sold nearly 500 squabs, and I am now putting into market over 100 
per month, besides retaining some of the choicest squabs for breeders. My squabs average 
nearly nine pounds to the dozen. With the exception of those raised by very young parent 
birds, they average over nine pounds to the dozen, while a few go as high as 12 pounds to the 
dozen. 

From my limited experience in the business, I am fully satisfied that squab raising is not - 
only very enjoyable work, but also very profitable to the one who starts with first-class tirds, 
gives them first-class care, uses ordinary good judgment in managing the business, and "has 
stick-to-it enough to give the business a fair test before giving up. — W. A. G., Ohio. 

HIS NEIGHBOR, AN ENGLISH EXPERT, THIRTEEN- YEAR-OLD BOY CHANGED 
COMPLIMENTED HIS PLYMOUTH ROCK HIS BABYHOOD PLAY-HOUSE INTO A 
HOMERS. Mv neighbor, an Englishman, SQUAB HOUSE AT A TOTAL EXPENDI- 
who has raised pigeons all his life from the TURE OF TWENTY-FD/E CENTS. I 
time he was a boy in England, complimented changed an old play-house into a squab house 
my Plymouth Rock Homers very highly. and built a pen and the whole thing cost me 
One side of his pigeon pen forms one side of 25 cents for bolts and wire staples. I will 
mine, our two houses joining, and we have send you sometime some photographs of my 
a good way to compare the birds, side by Plymouth Rock Homers and my house. I 
side. He has fine birds (raises his for fliers), follow the instructions in your Manual and 
but, although a novice in the business myself am well satisfied with everything. My papa 
and not authoritative on the matter, I would ordered the pigeons for me. Your well- 
not trade my pigeons for any he has. It was pleased customer. — W. C, Massachusetts, 
evident at the start that the birds you sent Note. Wc print this boy's letter because 
me were well mated, and my neighbor also we think he holds the record on cheapest 
remarked how well they seemed to be paired, squab-house construction (or remodeling), 
and how devoted the pairs were to each other. Who can beat it ? 
I think also, that quite an affection has already 

grown up between myself and the birds, of STARTED WITH CHEAP HOMERS, BUT 

a reciprocal nature, and I am thoroughly HAD TO KILL THEM OFF AND BUY PLY- 

pleased and satisfied.— R. R. M„ West MOUTH ROCKS. I send you draft for 145. 

Virginia. Send the birds as soon as you can. I have 

the squab house all ready. Last fall I sent 

SQUABS SOLD IN OHIO AT AN AVERAGE off for six pairs, then early this spring I sent 

PRICE OF $3.36 A DOZEN. My squabs are for six pairs to another firm (low-priced place), 

doing fine now. We have marketed 724 I ha,ve now one pair that is fairly good and one 

squabs since October 12, 1907, to June 20, good cock. I killed the oihers. I do not 

1908, off 210 pairs of birds — average price want any more $1 per pair pigeons. — J. B., 

apiece, 28 cents. — -W. H., Ohio. Iowa. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




A PAIR OF BIG SQUABS. 

These were bred by the Pennsylvania man whose letter is printed on this page. Note the enormous breasts 
and their plumpness. They are world-beaters. 

STARTED IN TWO HORSE-STALLS. RAPID PROGRESS IN ELEVEN MONTHS. I sent 
you my first order for six pairs of Extras, the birds arriving November 23, 1907, all in good 
condition with the exception of one, which you replaced later on. I selected the two horse- 
stalls in the barn as a fit place for keeping pigeons and put in the floor, windows, nests, etc., 
according to your Manual. I succeeded in getting the first pair to hatch within a month's time. 
It was very cold, which somewhat hindered them in their breeding. The remaining birds were 
all at work soon after the first and I became greatly interested in them. 1 had great confidence 
in this new venture and after they were all at work, I first conceived how fast they bred. 

In the month of January, 1908, I sent my second order for eight pairs of Extras, these birds 
arriving January 25, 1908, in good condition with the exception of one, which you so generously 
replaced later on. This second lot of birds were all at work within two weeks after liberation. 
They commenced to hatch so rapidly that I find I have at this date, October 11, 1908, about 
200 birds in all. These birds include the original 14 pairs and their offsprings. My birds are all 
banded and I keep a careful account of each pair. I have seen quite a few birds in town classed 
as Homers which do not near compare with the birds I bought of you. My pigeons can be seen 
any time and peoole are surprised to find such a fine lot of birds. The birds which I bought of 
you and their offsprings will easily average from seven to nine pairs a year, and some have 
hatched for the tenth time in less than a vear. Some of the nests had three eggs in them on 
two or three occasions. These eggs were all hatched out and I took the third young one and put 
it in the nest of good feeding birds who raised it to a good size. 

I have weighed some of my squabs and find them one pound and over, some occasionally being 
under one pound. 

After having read vour Manual thoroughly I determined to make the feed question one of the 
principal considerations. I use the self-feeder which you describe and recommend. I mix corn 
(which includes cracked corh) and wheat in the proportions which you state in your Manual and 
keep the self-feeder alwavs plentifully supplied with it, so that the crops of their young are well 
supplied. I also feed the dainties such as millet, buckwheat, peas, hemo seed and sunflower 
seeds, throwing lettuce, cabbage or parsley into the pen twice a week. The birds always have 
rock-salt, codfish and ovstershell before them. The pens are re-gravele d every six weeks and 

LEETERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



the birds are always in good health. I scald the drinking fountains several times a week and 
clean the apartments every week. The bathpans are filled daily so that they can keep free 
from vermin. I have not as yet been seriously troubled with lice for I disinfect thoroughly every 
few weeks. I have tried to follow your Manual in every way possible and the results testify to 
its great value as the book of all books on this subject. If a person has never engaged in this 
pleasant pursuit he need but buy a Manual and follow its teachings and success is sure to crown 
his efforts. It takes patience from the start and those who think of get-rich-quick schemes 
had better not start in this industry. — H. F. S., Pennsylvania. 



HER BIRDS IN CALIFORNIA LIKE FINE 
TWIGS FOR NEST BUILDING BETTER 
THAN STRAW. We have no w 28 mated pairs 
and I have another pair in the mating coop, 
also saw a pair in the squab pen making up 
to each other this morning. We are very 
much interested in the work and intend to 
continue until we have about 2000 birds if we 
can. Of course we will soon begin to sell 
some, but we wish to have enough to supply 
one certain place before we do, as we think 
by so doing we can build up a better trade 
and get a better price for our birds. Several 
have offered to buy but we have sold none yet. 
Every one says our birds are the prettiest 
and best cared for they ever have seen. 
They think we take unnecessary pains with 
them, but we think it pays to do so. We 
started in March last (1907) so none of our 
squabs is more than nine months old and they 
all mate up at about four or five months. 
The oldest ones have had several pairs of 
squabs of their own. We have followed the 
Manual and think it all right. We feed 
wheat, corn, cracked corn, Kaffir corn, mixed, 
as a daily feed and three times a week Canada 
peas and hemp seed with now and then a 
little rice. We have running water in our 
pens and we use eucalyptus and pepper twigs 
for the nest building, as they seem to like 
the fine twigs better than straw. We keep 
oystershell and charcoal and rock salt where 
they can get it, and put fresh gravel in the 
pens every now and then. We wish to keep 
about 50 pairs in each unit, so we have our 
first one almost full. We expect to buy more 
breeders as soon as we can and not depend 
altogether on our own, but we wanted to get 
a start and be able to handle a %w_ pairs 
properly before we tried so many. Wishing 
you success and prosperity. — Mrs. W. W., 
California. 

WORTHY OF ENTIRE CONFIDENCE. 

Enclosed find postal money order for which 
please send Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, 
according to your Special Offer No. 3. This 
is mv third order. The National Standard 
Squab Book is as nearly perfect as it can be 
and has given me both pleasure and satis- 
faction. Your improvements and additions 
are admirable. I am ordering from you be- 
cause you are I think entirely reliable, gen- 
erous and worthy of my entire confidence. 
Mv v'ia-ns are nut nuite ma<ur<=d but they 
tiiean more Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. — 
Mrs. H. A. C, Georgia. 



SELLING SQUABS AT GOOD PRICES AND 
BUYING MORE MATED PAIRS. I pur- 
chased of your company six pairs of your 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers the 13th of 
June, 1907, and six pairs the 27th of the same 
month and had no trouble in getting them to 
work. Some of them started to nest two 
days after I received them. 1 now (May, 
1903), have 60 mated pairs and have been 
selling squabs right along for $3 and $3.50 
a dozen. I have some pairs that hatch every 
month. I have one pair that hatch three 
birds quite often and raise them all. I have 
some squabs that weigh one pound at four 
weeks of age. They average from nine to 11 
pounds to the dozen. I have sold some pairs 
for $1.25 a pair. I feed the best of grain, 
such as whole corn, red wheat, Kaffir corn, 
millet, hemp seed and Canada peas and 
cracked corn, and use the self-feeder for the 
wheat and corn as shown in your Manual, and 
like it. I like your Manual and would not be 
without it. I have had no sickness or lice 
in my flock as I use plenty of lime, and keep 
my house well whitewashed inside and out- 
side. I have been in the first stores in 
Pittsburg and in several pigeon houses around 
here and I have seen none to ccrcpare with 
mine. I have some young birds finer than 
the parent birds. I like the birds very much 
and the business, or I would not be sending 
for more birds. Your birds are more than 
you claim them to be, for my birds have 
shown so. It will pay me better to buv mated 
birds that will hatch right off than it would 
to wait on the young for breeders, as I can 
be selling squabs, all that time. — J. H. S., 
Pennsylvania. 

BEST IN A LIFE TIME. I have read your 
book with much interest. It is by far the 
best I have ever seen on the subject of pigeon 
raising. I have kept pigeons all my life, 
or at least for 40 years, from the common to 
the high-priced carrier, and at present have 
a coop of some dozen different varieties, all 
of which I propose disoosing of and putting 
in the Plymouth Rock Homers. See enclosed, 
order. — W. W. B., New Jersey. 

LARGEST HOMERS EVER SEEN. The 
Plymouth Rock Homers I bought of you 
last season are doing far better than I had 
anticipated. Every one who has seen them, 
without an exception, says they are the 
largest Homers they have ever seen. — B. E., 
District of Columbia. 



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KNOWS WHERE TO GET RELIABLE 
BIRDS. I know where to come for reliable 
birds, having bought my Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers from you. See enclosed order. 
The Extra Homers I bought of you June 1 
have made a good record. I knew absolutely 
nothing about pigeons and had never seen a 
first-class bird until I got yours. Have 
depended entirely on your Manual for my 
knowledge. — Mrs. R. 0., Indiana. 

' MORE THAN DOUBLED. The pigeons 
we bought of you in September are doing 
nicely. They have more than doubled their 
number and our young stock have commenced 




AN ODD SQUAB HOUSE. 

This shows the small plant of the Massachusetts 
breeder whose letter is printed above and beneath the 
picture. 

laying. One pigeon suddenly became lame 
after his arrival here, and after trying to cure 
him we finally killed him. We have dis- 
covered no more lameness in our flock. — 
S. W., Massachusetts. 

SOME WEIGH ONE POUND AT THREE 
WEEKS. My Plymouth Rock Extras are all 

doing nicely and are raising squabs that aver- 
age a pound at four weeks. Some of them will 
weigh a pound at three weeks. — P. E., 
Pennsylvania. 



SET BACK BY POOR WHEAT. I started 
with six pairs. Got along fine until I got 
hold of a lot of poor wheat which made my 
pigeons very sick. This happened in the 
latter part of June, '07. I had by this time 
in all 25 or 30 birds, of which only five birds 
survived. I did not buy more pigeons until 
I had my pens remodeled so as to hold more 
birds._ Got them fixed up all right and bought 
17 birds of _ you, six pairs and five hens. 
They mated in about two weeks, raised about 
seven pairs in October, November nine 
pairs, December 10 pairs, January 11 pairs, 
February nine pairs, and I have ten eggs for 
this month. 

I do not feed wheat as you told me not to. 
I cannot get a good grade of wheat so I feed 
all Kaffir corn or a little cracked corn mixed 
with it. 

I have followed your Manual in every way 
and find it an excellent book, as I did not 
know a thing about pigeons at all. 

They do not pay as good prices here for 
squabs as they do in the North and East 
but they pay well considering the fact that 
people out in this part of the country do not 
know much about good squabs. They have 
been used to breeding the common pigeons' 
squabs which weigh about one-half as much as 
the squabs I raise. I had five out of the nest 
the 28th that weighed one and three-quarter 
pounds apiece. They are very fine birds. 
Fort Worth is growing every year very fast. 
We have 7500 people. I hope I will be able 
to convince the hotel people that they are 
worth more than 40 cents to 60 cents a pair. 
My flock is growing every day and I will order 
more birds before long. — J. S. W., Texas. 

KNEW ENOUGH ABOUT PIGEONS TO 
APPRECIATE THE BOOK. Your squab 
book is the best on that subject I have ever 
read. It covers the ground completely 
and makes everything plain and clear enough 
for a child to understand. A number of 
years ago I bred and flew Homers successfully 
for about five years. This experience en- 
abled me to understand and appreciate your 
book better than if I had no knowledge of 
pigeon raising. I will be glad to return 
the old Manual and receive new one. I will 
do so about January first, as I like to look 
into the book now and then and do not wish 
to be without one. 

I note that the Pittsburgh Dispatch is 
quoting squabs at $4.50 to $5.00, seconds at 
$3.70 per dozen. — A. E. C, Pennsylvania. 

WORTH ALL COMBINED. We think 
your Manual is the best in its line. We have 
read many books regarding squab breeding, 
but none has given us the satisfaction your 
Manual has. We would not trade your 
Manual for the whole bunch. Your book is 
so clear that a child can understand it. — 
H. & F. B., Ohio. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

282 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



COST HIM ABOUT EIGHTY CENTS A 
PAIR A YEAR. My birds bought of you work 
well, raising a pair about every six weeks. 
i have about 40 young ones now that are 
beginning to mate. One pair have raised 
one pair of nice squabs already. I would 
have had more now, but the rats killed quite 
a few. I have not sold any yet, have been 
saving them for stock. I have had several 
chances to sell some for breeders, but I 
thought I would rather keep them myself. 
I have not had any trouble with lice or sick- 
ness so far. I always keep the lofts cleaned 
out. I feed mostly cracked corn, Kaffir com 
and wheat, with buckwheat mixed in when 
I can get it. About three times a week I 
throw in some red millet, they are always 
looking for it. I have followed the Manual 
in regard to feeding. In the winter I feed 
more corn than wheat, and in the summer 
more wheat than corn. I think it has cost 
me about 70 or 80 cents a pair for the year. 
I made a self-feeder like the one outlined in 
the Manual and think it is all right. Feed has 
been high here for quite a while. I think 
anybody can make money raising pigeons 
if they tend to business and read their Manual. 
I think it is all right. I like to work around 
the lofts and watch the old ones take care of 
the young. I have two sections, one to 
keep the old ones in and the other for the 
young. I keep all my pigeons banded. I 
use the open legbands. I like them better 
than the others. Part of the birds seem to 
like to build on the floor better than in the 
nest bowls. I use clean straw for them to 
make nests. — E. L. Y., Illinois. 

NEARLY ALL HIS PLYMOUTH ROCK 
SQUABS WEIGH ONE POUND EACH. 

I would like to say that your Plymouth Rock 
Homers are fine birds. The second week I 
got them they started to work, although it was 
last February and very cold weather. I 
have now over 40 young ones and I sold some 
also. I certainly would not have any other 
kind of a pigeon about me. It used to worry 
me for fear I could not get my squabs to 
weigh up to some of your customers, who say 
in your National Standard Squab Book that they 
have squabs weighing 10 to 12 pounds to the 
dozen. Now I have some that weigh more 
than that. I have had some that weighed 
14 ounces, but most all weigh a pound apiece. 
I am going into the pigeon business on a large 
scale, and every one of my birds will be from 
you, as soon as I get a place where I can 
enlarge my plant. — C. H. P., Pennsylvania. 

BUILDS A NEW HOUSE AFTER FIFTEEN 
MONTHS' EXPERIENCE WITH A TRIAL 
LOT. Fifteen months ago I bought six 
pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers of you. 
They are doing splendid. I think I will want 
another small lot when I have my new house 
done that I am building. — W. A. R., Maryland. 



HAD SUCCESS WITH HIS BIRDS FOL- 
LOWING PLYMOUTH ROCK METHODS. 

Please send me some of your pigeon literature 
for 1908 if you have any. I bought one of your 
Manuals in 1907 and am very much pleased 
with it and I would not part with it for five 
dollars. I have had success with my birds 
since I had it and recommend it to all my 
friends. It is full of facts that are true, 
and is written so that any one can understand 
it that reads it. I love pigeons and I like 
to see others make a success with them. — 
E. H., Maryland. • 

CLEVELAND (OHIO) MARKET. Monday, 
October 19,1908,1 was offered $2.50 a dozen 
for squabs just taken off the nest, not killed. 
It has been stated in this city (Cleveland) 
that squabs will go up as high as $3 a dozen 
wholesale.— W. E. P., Ohio. 







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TOBACCO STEMS. 

Used for nesting material. You should not use 
these stems if you are going to cell the manure to 
tanneries because they do not want manure containing 
tobacco stems, as the stems stain the hides. If you . 
are not going to sell the manure to tanneries but to 
gardeners and florists you can use tobacco stems as 
they are an excellent preventive against lice. 

WOMAN'S SUCCESS LEADS TO AN- 
OTHER ORDER. Some time last winter 
I was at Spring City, Tennessee, and advised 
a woman to order some of your pigeons. 
They having proven very satisfactory to her, 
and upon her recommendation after a trial, 
I am enclosing you herewith New York 
exchange for $30 for which please send me 
as earlv as possible vour Special Offer No. 1, 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, etc. — J. M. C, 
North Carolina. 

DOING WONDERS IN VERMONT. Our 

birds are doing fine and for the care they 
have had have done wonders since we got 
them. We find very few inbreeding. If you 
have any new literature, please advise us. — 
J. O. S., Vermout. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

283 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



SQUABS AS FAT AS AN OLD HEN. I 

have 100 pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers 
and am well pleased with them. I dressed 
16 Homer squabs yesterday that averaged 
just a pound apiece. Several were only 26 
days old. My principal feed is cracked and 
whole corn, red wheat and millet seed, also 
feed some Kaffir corn and think well of it. 
I use tobacco stems for nesting material. 

My squabs are as fat as an old hen at four 
weeks. My birds are healthy, snappy and 
strong and working fine. In banding squabs 
or young birds before leaving nest how can 
I tell male from female, as I want to know 
which leg to place band on? — H. R., Ohio. 

Answer. You cannot tell at that age. 
Put the band on either leg and transfer it to 
the correct leg when the bird discloses its 
sex by its actions at four to five months. 




LUMP OF ROCK SALT. 

This kind of salt and no other should be fed to 
pigeons. By pecking at it they set off enough and 
cannot harm themselves by eating too much. If you 
feed our Health Grit you do not need to provide this 
rock salt. 

A BOY'S PLEASURE. You have treated 
me very nice. I am fully satisfied with what 
birds I have got from you. I have done 
everything you recommend in your Manual. 
The red checkers raised one pair of squabs 
which weighed almost two pounds when 
three weeks old. I would like very much to 
order some of your specials, but I am only 
12 years old and just starting out. I am also 
a cripple, not being able to do very much 
myself, consequently I must depend entirely 
on my father for assistance. I do not like 
to ask too much of him. I feel that he does 
all he can for my pleasure. My education 
is from him, as I have never been able to go 
to school. — E. D., Illinois. 



HAD EXPERIENCE WITH COMMON 
PIGEONS, POOR HOMERS AND PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS. I had a notion that the 
common pigeons would do as well in raising 
and raise as large squabs as the Homers 
would, but I was greatly mistaken as you will 
see. I kept my common pigeons for about 
four or five months, which was enough for me 
because it cost more to feed them than I got 
for my squabs, so I sold out all of my common 
pigeons and bought some Homers. These 
Homers I got from men who were selling for 
75 cents and $1.50 a pair which did no . do 
much better than my common pigeons, so I got 
thoroughly disgusted with pigeons and sold 
out again. About two weeks later I saw your 
advertisement, which was the starting of 
my success. I liked your advertisement 
and sent off for your catalogue. What 
I found in your catalogue was true and it 
sounded like the truth. I liked the cata- 
logue so well that I sent for your Manual, 
which you sell for 50 cents, which is not a 
hundredth of its value. After I read the 
Manual I ordered some of your Extra Homers. 
I thought you would give me good birds the 
first time and bad birds the second time, but 
the second order was filled with as good birds 
as the first. I got mv first birds from you in 
the winter, about February, 1908. By mail 
you sent me a slip of the most valuable 
information that I ever read or will read in 
my life. 

I kept fresh water before my birds all the 
time. I did not let the birds drink the 
bathing water at all. In the winter time 
the water would freeze at night but fresh 
water was put in every morning. My pigeons 
did better in the winter than in the summer. 

I feed my pigeons wheat, cracked corn, 
hemp seed and about a double handful a week 
of Kaffir corn and sunflower seed, which 
altogether is about the most digestible and 
fattening for the squabs. I keep salt, 
charcoal, grit and oystershell before them all 
the time. I give my pigeons about four or 
five heads of iettuce every week. I followed 
your Manul in every way possible. In a 
few davs I will send you a third order for 
your Extra Homers. — P. A., North Carolina. 

BUSY WORKING ALL THE TIME. As 

you, no doubt, remember, I bought 15 pairs 
of your Plymouth Rock Homers last March. 
Am very well pleased with them. My 
Homers are doing fine, busv workinV all the 
time. When I want more Homers will place 
the order with you. — H. J., Ohio. 

SELLING SQUABS REGULARLY FROM 
A SPLENDID FLOCK OF BREEDERS. In 

February, 1906, I bought a few pairs of very- 
good pigeons from you, from which I have 
raised a splendid flock of breeders from which 
I have been selling squabs regularly for the 
last eight months. — G. A. W., Ohio. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

284 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




HEAD OF SORGHUM SEED. 

This is fed largely to pigeons by our customers in the Southern States. The birds are very fond of it. The 
berries are brown in color and a liitle smaller than Kaffir corn. When dried, this head of sorghum cane may be 
thrown directly into the squab house and the birds will peck the berries off the stalk. 



AFTER HE HAD TRIED PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS HE DISPOSED OF HIS 
OTHER PIGEONS BOUGHT OF OTHERS. 

I am sending you a small order for 24 pairs 
Extra. Please ship birds as soon as possible. 
The birds are doing well I got of you 60 days 
ago. I have disposed of all my other pigeons 
bought oi others and only have what birds 
I bought of you. I intend to keep buying 
until I get what stock I need. I had a local 
trade but I let it go, because I would not sell 
squabs from Plymouth Rock Homers at the 
same price I sold former squabs. I will have 
a four to six dozen capacity plant and would 
ask for the addre'ss of some firm in Pittsburg 
or New York City to whom I could sell a 
couple of five dozen shipments, just to keep 
from housing them in my loft. The main 

foint is to get in touch with the market; 
prefer to sell my squabs and buy breeding 
stock of a mature age,_ but I do not want to 
spoil the market or give them away to the 
local trade for 40 cents a pair. You need not 
be afraid to give me the name of your nearest 
fancy squab buyer. 

My shipping boxes are being made of white 
enamel inside and white painted hard wood 
outside. The white enamel box is to fit 
in the white wood box, allowing enough room 
for ice. ' The boxes are to be returned to me 
at my expense. I hope you will consider 
the proposition. Now I have tried many 
squab companies and if you people will do 
anyway right I will buy all the stock I can 
from you. — R. B., Pennsylvania. 

A WOMAN'S SHORT AND SATISFACTORY 
MESSAGE. The pigeons I got from you 
several years ago have been most satisfactory. 

— Josephine S. H., Massachusetts. 



RECEIVING FIFTY-FIVE CENTS A PAIR 
FOR SQUABS. Our No. 1 Plymouth Rock 
Homers breed squabs weighing eight pounds 
to the dozen and we are receiving 55 cents 
a pair for them. We have found your 
Manual a great help and have followed it 
almost entirely, and never pick it up without 
seeing something that we missed on previous 
readings. We are feeding from your self- 
feeder a mixture of whole corn, cracked corn 
and wheat, varying the proportion as we 
notice they scatter one grain or another, 
but usually about one-third each. Then we 
throw to them on the floor different mixtures 
of millet, Kaffir corn, Canada peas, hemp 
seed and rice. On the whole we are well 
ploased with the birds and the business and 
we hooe to increase our stock as rapidly as 
possible. — H. J. B., Pennsylvania. 

EVERYTHING TRUE IN MANUAL. I 
have your Manual. It is complete and you 
make no false statements. Everything you 
say is true, and if any one is wishing to start, 
I would advise them to get a hundred pairs; 
don't start with a few. Our last order was 
small because we do not know whether we 
will stay in this town or not, but when we 
are permanently located we will order a hun- 
dred or more pairs. — R. M., Iowa. 

BREEDER OF COMMON PIGEONS CON- 
VERTED BY OBSERVATION OF PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HOMERS. Enclosed find order for 
some of your best Extras. Your Manual 
came a few days ago. It is all that you claim 
for it. Have had a good deal of experience 
with common pieeons, but have seen your 
Plymouth Rock Homers at work and they 
are " the thinT."— R. D., Texas. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

285 




HEALTH GRIT. 

This is a photograph of our Health Grit, for which we have an enormous sale. It will pay for itself many times 
over, increasing both the number and the size of the squabs and also keeping the whole flock in first-class condition . 
The above photograph shows clearly the small shells and the gravel and charcoal which are in the grit. There are 
half a dozen ingredients in the grit, including medicinal substances. The formula is a trade secret. Wereceive 
hundreds of letters praising this grit Nearly all of our lar^e customers, almost without a single exception, feed 
it constant y to their flocks. The value of this grit is well indicated by the following letter received from a customer 
in Connecticut in May, 1908: " Please send enclosed order for your Health Grit as soon as possible as we have 
lost a few pigeons lately I think it is because I got out of the grit. They are crazy about it and were healthy 
when they had it." 

286 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 





>'"'"', 



/0« 





1. RED WHEAT- 



2. CANADA PEAS- 



3. HEMPSEED- 



On this page and on the pages that follow we print pictures reproduced from direct photographs of grain 
used in squab raising; also grit, shells, etc. These pictures have come out very well and will give our readers 
scattered over this continent and in other parts of the world a clear idea of what we are talking about. 

In the above picture (the first of the series) No. 1 is a sample of good red wheat, showing the plumpness of the 
berries. No. 2, Canada peas. No. 3, hempseed. 



ENLARGED PLANT AND FLOCK. Seven 
months ago we bought one dozen pairs of your 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. We now 
have 78 young. Ten pairs of young have 
mated and we find them to be larger than their 
parents. Our squabs at four weeks weigh 
from 12 ounces to 15 ounces apiece. We 
keep constantly before them pure fresh water 
and we feed from a self-feeder made from 
your pattern, filled with two parts whole 
corn and one part red wheat, then at noon 
we feed some dainty placed on a flat board 
with raised edges, alternating between 
Kaffir corn, buckwheat and hemp seed with 
rice on Sunday. We keep a cash account of 
everything and find at present prices we are 
able to keep our birds at the rate of $1 per 
pair per year. We have surveyed a place for a 
pigeon house of five units to be built on our 
plan and hope before many months to be 
doing business on a paying basis. I am 
fully convinced there is money in it. Your 
Manual is just fine and cannot be beat as far 
as I know. It has been the secret of our 
successful start so far. We have to refer 
to It very often. We wish you even greater 
success than in the past. — A. L. H., New 
York. 



RECEIVES TWENTY CENTS EACH FOR 
SQUABS ALIVE AND FINDS THAT THIS 
PRICE PAYS. I started in April, 1906, with 
24 pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers. They 
got to work in about three weeks. The 
squabs weigh eight to nine pounds a dozen. 
I sell the squabs alive at four weeks old for 
20 cents each. I have not sold any live 
breeders, but I have had chances and re- 
ferred them to you. I have fed as your 
Manual says. I have no trouble with lice. 

I like my birds and think there is money 
in them, but one has to have a iarge flock to 
do much. I intend to keep at it and this 
spring will build me three more pens, as I 
now have three and I want to get 500 pairs, 
and will send for more later. Your Manual 
is all right and very plain in every way. I use 
egg boxes for nests, tobacco stems and straw. 
— B. A. L., Connecticut. 

YES, WE ARE CONVINCED AND THANK 

YOU. I bought my first lot of birds from 
you. Since I have bought elsewhere, but 
1 believe you are the most reliable to deal 
with and this order will confirm my belief 
and convince another, too. — F. P. S., Mas- 
sachusetts. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

287 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




4. WOOD SCREWS. 



5. KAFFIR CORN. 



6. SORGHUM CANE SEED. 



In this picture we show in the first group a lot of common wood screws seven-eighths of an inch long. (These 
are the screws which we furnish with every order for nest bowls, for screwing the bowls to the bottoms of the nest 
boxes.) Our object in printing the screws is to afford the eye of the reader a measure of comparison with these 
different grains. For example, in the above photograph the sample No. 5 is Kaffir corn. By comparing the 
Kaffir corn with the screws, the eye of the observer forms a correct estimate of the size of the Kaffir corn and also 
the other grains in the other pictures. These photographs show the actual sizes of the objects. The grain in No. 
6 is sorghum cane seed, full size. A reduced photograph of a head of sorghum cane is shown on page 2S5. 



QUICKLY AT WORK IN MONTANA. I 

think we will send for Special Offer No. 7 and 
extra supplies this month. Our birds (100 
pairs) received May 17, have done very well. 
Some pairs are setting (August) for the third 
time. Have a four-unit house in course of 
construction, part of which we will fill with 
selected young from our own flock. I have 
sold about five dozen squabs and it is three 
months today since the birds were received, 
and have about 100 young in the squab 
house, which we expect to keep for breeders. — 
S. A. F., Montana. 

SUCCESS TOLD BY REPEATED ORDERS 
FROM IOWA. I send you money order for 
$150 for which send me Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers as per your Special Offer No. 7. 
I would like birds in place of supplies which 
I think amount to $24.98, making 238 birds 
according to the offer. I would like to get 
650 mated birds in three shipments and will 
send vou an order every two weeks until that 
number is supplied. In November, 1907, 
I bought of you 12 pa:rs No. 1 and 12 pairs 
Extra.— R. I. E., Iowa. 



FIFTY CENTS A PAIR ALIVE. I am sell- 
ing my squabs to a local cafe and am receiv- 
ing 50 cents per pair alive. If you think I 
can do better than that in larger cities, 
kindly send me the names of some firms who 
are in the market for heavy squabs, the 
average weight being 10 pounds to the dozen. 
Also please send me all your latest circulars. 
Hoping to have a prompt reply and wishing 
you ah the success that you deserve. — 
P. A. W., Pennsylvania. 

PRAISE FROM AN OLD BREEDER. 

The Manual is " non plus ultra," without a 
peer, can't be beat. I read it through twice 
and still I find something interesting each 
time I pick it up again. I have raised 
Belgium Homers since a small boy. — H. T„ 
Pennsylvania. 

ALL WE CLAIMED FOR THEM. If I 

had the room and money, I would like to buy 
100 pairs from you, as the No 1 birds I bought 
from you are all you claimed for them and if 
the Extras are so much better, they certainly 
must be fine.— G. R. J., West Virginia. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

288 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




7. WHOLE CORN. 



8. COARSE CRACKED. 



9. FINE CRACKED. 



No. 7 is common yellow whole corn. No. 8 is coarse-cracked corn sifted and No. 9 is fine-cracked corn sifted. 
(See the chapter on feed in this Manual for full instructions.) As a rule the coarse-cracked corn No. 8 should be 
fed instead of the fine-cracked corn No. 9. This No. 9 sample of corn is what is known as chick-cracked corn. It 
is good for little chicks. 



HIS SMALLEST PLYMOUTH ROCK 
SQUAB WEIGHS THREE-QUARTERS OF A 
POUND AT THE AGE OF THREE WEEKS. 

My birds are very tame, so much so that when 
I go into the coop with hemp seed or other 
dainties and hold out my hand, they fly right 
on it and eat. I was weighing my squabs 
yesterday, and the smallest one I have at 
present weighs three-quarters of a pound. 
It was three weeks old yesterday. — G. A. W., 
New Jersey. 

HOT SELLERS. I want to know if it 
is too late for me to send for pigeons on that 
Special Offer. If it is not too late, when I 
hear from you I will forward the _ money. 
I am having good luck with the pigeons I 
bought of you last year and am selling the 
squabs as fast as I get them. — T. N., British 
Columbia. 

WE SELL TO HUNDREDS OF FANCIERS 
TO BREED FLYERS. Although I am not 
interested much in squab breeding I am 
interested in flying. A dealer in my neighbor- 
hood has a few of your birds and finds them 
pretty good for flying so I intend to try some. — 
L. S. B., Pennsylvania. 



THREE PAIRS SHOW WHAT THEY 
ARE GOOD FOR. Ever since I have had 
your birds they have bred remarkably well, 
one pair raising eleven pairs of fine squabs 
in one year. Not one pair that I bought of 
you or raised myself has raised less than 
nine pairs of prime market squabs per year. 
I think that is a fair record. Besides eating 
plenty of squabs, I have worked up a flock 
of 30 pairs of prime breeders from the origi- 
nal small lot of three pairs. — R. E. F., 
Michigan. 

GOOD PRICES FOR SQUABS IN PENNSYL- 
VANIA. Squabs have been- quoted at $4 
to $4.25 per dozen, seven pounds to the dozen, 
in our papers here. I do not know what mine 
weigh as I have not weighed any of them, but 
feel satisfied that they will go more than that 
as they are large. — A. A. R., Pennsylvania. 

EVERY WORD TRUTH. A friend of mine 
gave me one of your National Standard Squab 
Books the other day and I have read it through 
and think it is every word truth, having 
raised pigeons a long time, but never_ for 
the market, so think I know a little about it. — 
R. H.,Iowa. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

289 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




10. WHITE WHEAT. 



11. POOR RED WHEAT. 



12. WHEAT SCREENINGS 



No. 10 is good white wheat. (It is all right to feed white wheat to pigeons if you cannot pet red wheat.) No. 
11 shows a poor quality of red wheat. The berries vary in size, showing that the wheat is a mixture, and sprinkled 
through them can be seen oats and elevator sweepings. No. 12 is an even poorerkind of wheat known as wheat 
screenings. This is the refuse of a wheat elevator, including sweepings, broken grain, hulls, rat manure, etc. Such 
sweepings or screenings are not a profitable feed for pigeons. They are fed quite largely by many people who buy 
the cheapest they can get of anything, but a flock fed on this will be out of condition and will raise poor squabs. 



WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 
WORTH FIVE DOLLARS A PAIR. My 

partner sent to the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company for a pair of your white Homers 
and when he got them they were dandy ones. 
They were worth the money. When he sent 
for them, we just wanted to see if they were 
good, and we sent for five more pairs at 
$2.75 a pair. We got them safely and now 
I wouldn't sell them for a V. — F. L., New 
York. 



WANTS ONLY THE SQUABS WHICH 
PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS BREED. I 

am mailing you $20 for which I want Extra 
fancy Plymouth Rock Homer breeders. 
I am breeding about 100 pairs of Homers 
that produce squabs that weigh about nine 
and one-half pounds, but the demand is for 
the largest. So send me something good. 
Mr. Chase, my neighbor, bought a few pairs 
of you about one year ago and has been hav- 
ing very good success. — E. E. T., Missouri. 



RAISED THREE YEARS FOR FAMILY 

USE. I saw your advertisement in the Ladies 
Home Journal and will be glad if you will 
send me one of your free 1908 books on squab 
raising. We bought pigeons of you about 
three years ago. They have been very 
satisfactory. We raise them for family use 
only. — Mrs. J. G. P., Virginia. 

WOULD PAY TEN DOLLARS FOR THIS 
BOOK. I would not be without your Manual 
no, not if it cost me $10 to get one, for it gives 
me more instruction, pleasure and satisfaction 
than I can express. — L. A. W., Georgia. 



RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND. Will 

you please send me price list and literature 
about the raising of squabs ? A friend of ours 
recommended your company to us, as his 
son-in-law purchased some pigeons of you 
last spring and thev are very satisfactory. — 
W. H., State of Washington. 

ONE DOLLAR A PAIR FOR PLYMOUTH 
ROCK SQUABS IN PITTSBURG. I am 

getting $1 per pair for all the squabs I can 
raise, and will have another order for breeding 
stock as soon as I can arrange for larger 
quarters. — H. R., Pennsylvania. 



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MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




13. BARLEY. 



14. OATS. 



15. SUNFLOWER SEEDS. 



No. 13 is barley, which may be fed if plentiful and cheap. No. 14 is oats, which may be fed if plentiful and 
cheap, but they are not generally fed here in the East because the squab raiser gets more for his money in other 
grains. No. 15 is sunflower seeds Sunflower seeds grow freely without attention almost everywhere. The 
heads when dried may be thrown directly into the squab pen and the birds will peck the seeds out of the heads. 
Sunflower seeds sell at retail for from six to eight cents a pound, sometimes more. Nearly every drug store sells 
them for parrot feed. The supply comes mostly from the West, although a great deal is exported from Copen- 
hagen, Denmark. To buy sunflower seeds and feed them to pigeons is not profitable for the squab raiser, because 
hempseed sells for less money, namely five cents a pound, and hempseed is better than sunflower seeds for the birds. 



GOT THIS BOOK FROM A LIBRARY AND 
STUDIED IT STEADILY FOR A MONTH. 

I am just starting in the pigeon business and 
I would like you to give me a few starting 
points. I went to the library to get a pigeon 
book and I found a book which you published 
and I read that book every day for two weeks, 
and then I took it back and had it renewed 
for two more weeks and I still have it. — A. K., 
Indiana. 

PLYMOUTH ROCKS KNOWN IN UTAH. 

Some man asked a question in a daily paper 
in Salt Lake. In answering him they 
boomed you up to the clouds. They praised 
your company so much that I thought I 
would write you for a tatalogue. — H. S., 
Utah. 

FOUR DOLLARS AND A HALF A DOZEN 
FOR PLYMOUTH ROCKS IN NEW JERSEY. 
My squabs all average nine to 10 pounds to 
the dozen. Am I doing well to get 75 cents 
a pair? — Mrs. M. C. C, New Jersey. 



PLYMOUTH ROCKS THE ONLY KIND 
WORTH WHILE. I hope later on to do 
away with all except what I am purchasing 
of you and get all Plymouth Rocks, as I am 
convinced they are the only kind worth while. 
I will leave the selection entirely with you, 
feeling sure you will send the best you have. — 
Mrs. D. W. A., Georgia. 

SQUABS IN ARKANSAS. The squab 
business is a new enterprise in this section. 
If I can work it up I will build another house 
and order more birds from you. I have a 
friend who is thinking of buying a lot from 
you. When he sees mine I am sure he will 
decide at once. Thank you for your prompt- 
ness and square dealings. — C. W., Arkansas. 

MANUAL WORTH TEN TIMES HALF A 
DOLLAR. I received your National Standard 
Squab Book and find every time I pick it up 
something new in it. It is worth ten times 
its cost. I would not let any one have it for 
what I paid for it. — P. J. L., Pennsylvania. 



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291 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



n .-r'j^^^K^rr 



16. AMERICAN MILLET. 



17. SIBERIAN MILLET. 



The above are samples of millet. No. 16 is the ordinary American millet. 
No. 18 is the golden (yellow) millet. All of these are good pigeon foods. 



18. GOLDEN MILLET. 
No. 17 is the Siberian (red) millet. 



FOUR YEARS* BREEDING IN IOWA. 

I am about to save the pigeon manure and 
sell it to a tannery at Milwaukee that is 
nearest to me. They will buy it if there is no 
foreign matter in it. They object to tobacco 
stems. Please tell me what I could use so as 
to be able to sell it. 

If you remember, I purchased a few pairs 
of Extras from you over four years ago. I am 
shipping squabs to Chicago and doing fairly 
well considering the high price of feed 
here. — J. C, Iowa. 

Answer. Use straw. 

OLD CALIFORNIA CUSTOMER HEARD 
FROM AGAIN. We had 100 pairs of you 
once, but being obliged to move away on 
business sold them. We shall get more 
breeders before long and would like to know 
what you have to say in 1908. — F. B. M., 
California. 

SLX-FOLD INCREASE IN ONE YEAR. 

September 21, 1907, I received six pairs of 
your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I have 
now (September, 1908) 75 squabs. This is 
a fair increase for the old birds. My pigeons 
are the finest lot in Kankakee. — J. W., 
Illinois. 



NO RACE SUICIDE HERE. We cannot 
hold our pigeons back. We returned from 
California four months ago bringing our nine 
pairs with us and we now have 52. I would 
like to have a price list of your birds again. 
We are counting on buying about 100 pairs, 
probably next spring. One little hen you 
sent is a wonder. She does not know any- 
thing about race suicide. I have a good mind 
to send her to President Roosevelt. — A. B. M., 
Missouri. 

IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. Two years ago 
I sent for your circulars, but I could not then 
see my way to try the business, but after 
seeing the success a friend of mine is making 
of it in Victoria, I am tempted to try it as 
I now have the necessary room and leisure. — 
W. M. L., British Columbia. 

BOOSTED IN SOUTH DAKOTA. I am 

giving your birds a good boost all around here 
and I think you will soon be receiving some 
orders. — G. B., South Dakota. 

HOTEL TAKES ALL. My birds are doing 
fine. I am getting $3 per dozen for squabs 
and the hotel takes all I can breed. — W. C, 

West Virginia. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

292 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




19. RICE UNHULLED. 



20. RICE. 



21. BUCKWHEAT. 



No. 19 is a sample of rice with the brown hulls on. No. 20 shows the same rice with the hulls taken off. This, 
the unhulled kind, is what should be fed to pigeons as needed to correct diarrhoea, or as desirable where it is cheap 
and plentiful. Do not cook rice to feed to pigeons. You feed the white raw grains same as you do any other 
grain, uncooked. No. 21 is buckwheat. 



SOME PEOPLE THINK SQUABS ARE 
YOUNG BANTAM CHICKENS. My Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers arrived in fine condition 
and in three weeks were all nesting. I now 
have 97 birds with them and their young. 
The young that hatched in February and 
March laid in August, so I think I did well. 
I have not seen any that could compare with 
them. Others that see them say they are a 
fine lot of birds. Each pair has averaged a 
pair every six weeks, except in the moulting 
time when they dropped off laying for a 
while. The squabs that I raise weigh from 
three-quarters to one pound before they leave 
their nests. 

Mr. Haganbothan saw my birds and sent 
for 12 pairs from you. They have been doing 
fine since he got them. 

I have fed principally cracked corn and 
wheat, buckwheat and mixed feeds, changing 
from one to another. I do not think it a good 
plan to feed long the same grains. In moult- 
ing time I feed corn, whole rice and a few 
peas and poultry powder. This is my first 
experience in the pigeon business. I have 
<">ne of your Manuals and have followed it 
mostly. For a tonic I give them a table- 



spoonful of vinegar in the water once a week 
and some poultry powder, which I think is a 
good help to producing eggs. The birds 
are not much care — only a few minutes in the 
morning and evening. 

Your Manual is a great help to those in the 
pigeon business. If the loft is kept clean, 
with fresh water and change of feed there will 
be no sick birds or lice. To keep lice out, 
take slaked lime and wood ashes and sprinkle 
in loft. I have not been bothered with them. 
The cost of the birds per pair is something 
like 65 cents per pair per year. 

I shall keep most of my birds that I raise 
this year and by next year will commence to 
sell some squabs. They sell from 25 cents to 
40 cents apiece and I could sell them to good 
advantage. Some people do not know what 
squabs are and think they are young Bantam 
chicks. — J. L. M., Indiana. 

GETTING ALONG VERY WELL IN 
FLORIDA. Please find enclosed check in 
payment for 200 fibre nest bowls. We are 
getting along very well with the pigeons. 
We have between 300 and 400 young birds. 
I think I should build another house and 
fly.— H. B. L., Florida. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

203 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




22. GRANITE GRIT. 



23. QUARTZ GRIT. 



24. SAME CRUSHED. 



Here are samples of grits which never should be fed to pigeons. No. 22 is a coarse granite grit. No. 23 is a 
finer granite or quartz grit. No. 24 is the same material, either granite, quartz or mica crushed finer. All of 
these poultry grits will do the pigeons more harm than good and are useless expense. Ordinary sand or gravel is 
better. 



HOW A LOUISIANA SQUAB BREEDER 
BUYS HIS GRAIN. PRICES FOR SQUABS 
IN HIS STATE ARE GOOD. I resigned my 
position with the railroad company and have 
moved to my home and you will please 
address me here. I have been very busy 
getting in shape for my birds and I now have 
them comfortably located in a nice house 
14 by 24. They are getting to work nicely 
and as they are now in their permanent 
quarters and will not have to be disturbed 
any more, I expect soon to have a large flock 
of them. My birds have been moved three 
times in the last 90 days, but are all in fine 
condition, which shows they are thrifty and 
will do well under most any kind of circum- 
stances. 

I am buying wheat and Kaffir corn from 
Kansas City, Missouri. I get Kaffir corn at 
98 cents per hundredweight f.o.b. Kansas 
City and wheat at $1 per bushel. The freight 
rate here is about 70 cents, so Kaffir corn does 
not cost me much more than corn chops. 
I pay $1.50 per sack for chops delivered here. 

Every one who sees my Homers says they 
are the finest they ever saw. I have orders 
now for about 5b pairs at $1 per pair at 
weanling age. 

Quotations for squabs this week in my 



markets are $4 a dozen. (This price is offered 
by commission men.) The hotels and cafes 
will pay from $1 to $1.50 more. — G. W. T., 
Louisiana. 

FIRST EXPERIMENT, THEN THE REAL 
THING. The first lot that I bought from 
you was an experiment, a success. I will 
enlarge this spring if not sooner. — J. P. C, 
Wiscousin. 

EIGHT DAYS OLD, WEIGHT HALF A 
POUND. I had a squab that weighed one- 
half a pound when it was eight days old from 
the Homers I got from you a few weeks ago. 
How is that?— R. B. W., Ohio. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS THE 
BEST IN THIS NEW JERSEY TOWN. Mine 
are fine birds, the best in the town, there are 
none like them.— L. K., New Jersey. 

TEXAS WOMAN'S WORK. Something 
more than a year ago I purchased six pairs of 
pigeons from you. I have quite a flock now, 
having been successful. — Mrs. R. E. B., Texas. 

RAPID PROGRESS IN ELEVEN WEEKS. 
I bought 12 pairs of No. 1 Plymouth Rock 
Homers and received them April 11. I now 
(July 6) have 33 young ones. — E. L. P., Iowa. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

294 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




25. HEALTH GRIT. 



26. COARSE OYSTER SHELL. 



27. PIGEON OYSTER SHELL 



No. 25 is another view of our Health Grit same as the larger picture on page 286. No. 26 is a sample of large 
oyster shell such as is sold for poultry. It is too large for pigeons. The correct size for pigeons is shown in sample 
No. 27. 



BEING DEAF, SHE WAS HANDICAPPED IN BUSINESS, BUT SQUAB RAISING SOLVED 
THE PROBLEM. My birds bought of you several years ago are doing splendidly and paying 
me amply for the care and cost given them. I have found your National Squab Book of the 
greatest practical value. I like the business better than anything I ever tried. Being deaf, 
I found it especially hard to get hold of a business I could manage myself, but in squabraising 
one is not thrown so much in contact with the world and one is able to feel independent. I 
began last fall and had several months of discotiragement at first, failing to find a satisfactory 
market. As there is a good demand for good birds at all times I succeeded in making a per- 
manent arrangement with a summer resort, they agreeing to take all I could send at $4 per 
dozen, and pay express charges, too. My birds generally weigh 10 pounds to the dozen and are 
fine-looking birds. At four weeks they are hard to tell from the parents. 

I have only 50 or 60 birds but have just sent off 24 squabs, have 36 in the house and about 
two dozen eggs. I think that is doing a very brisk business for so small a flock. I have gone 
in regard to feed almost exactly by your Manual, indeed I have followed it in every respect 
and could not have managed without it. I have had no sickness except once, when I left the 
birds in charge of some one who did not treat them properly, and once when I was without grit 
for several weeks. Both times they had diarrhoea and were all fearfully thin, what you call 
" going light," I believe. Occasionally the parents desert the squabs before they are big 
enough to kill and begin on a new family; but these cases have been rare. — Miss B. R., Virginia. 

PRACTICAL NEW YORK MARKET MEN SUCCESSFUL WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUABS. 

In looking over your new Manual (190S) I noticed a letter from a firm that does business in 
front of our store. It is " Heineman & Co." I am personally acquainted with them and told 
them I had bought pigeons from you. William Heineman wished me to mention his name to 
you when I wrote again, so I have taken this opportunity to do so. I feel amply repaid for 
having bought my birds of you and I will place my future orders for stock with you. Just 
as soon as I am able to branch out more I shall send for more birds. Thank you for your 
great kindness and clean business dealings with me and wish you still further sticcess in your 
business. — R. L., New York. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

295 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




28. MIXED GRAIN. 



29. MIXED GRAIN. 



30. MIXED GRAIN. 



The above are samples of mixed pigeon grain. No. 28 is a good mixture. No 30 contains good grains but also 
has oyster shells and grit in it. No. 29 contains an even larger proportion of granite grit and oyster shells and 
the grains are poorer. The reason why some grain dealers put oyster shells and grit into their mixtures is that 
these two substances cost them less than half of what grain costs, and by selling the mixture at the price of 
good grain, they sell grit and oyster shells at the price of grain. If the breeder wishes to mix grit and oyster shells 
with his grain, it is much cheaper for him to buy them separately and do his own mixing. 



SELLS SQUABS FOR THREE DOLLARS A DOZEN TO A MAN WHO CALLS AND TAKES 
THEM ALIVE OUT OF THE NESTS. Since February each pair of my Plymouth Rock Homers 

has thrown five pairs of squabs, all weighing 10 and 11 pounds to the dozen. Am a great 
believer in feed, i.e., quality and variety, and feed each morning equal quantities of cracked 
corn, red wheat, and Kaffir corn. In the afternoon I substitute Canada peas three times a 
week and hemp seed twice for red wheat, and this mixture has kept my birds in good working 
trim. 

The self-feeder which I made according to your instructions was somewhat of a failure in 
my case. The birds managed to scatter an enormous amount of feed on the floor, causing a 
great waste, which I have obviated by the use of troughs. I feed twice a day and have by 
observation got the quantity needed to satisfy them down very fine. Very little grain is tossed 
out of the troughs, which are six feet long by 12 inches wide with one and one-half inch rims. 
Was very careful to see if there was any falling off in the weight of squabs when I made the 
change from self-feeder to trough, but none was noticeable. Have followed your instructions 
otherwise and must say they have worked out beautifully. Your Manual has proven a veritable 
storehouse of practical information and advice. Some time ago I bought some birds from 

a friend which he purchased from and must admit that the squabs from your birds are 

whiter meat. From present indications, I am going to get at least one pair of squabs more per 
pair of breeders from your birds than from my other stock. Hereafter it's your stock for me. 
I keep a card file system which enables me to tell in a moment just what every pair in my 
lofts is doing. The squabs raised from your stock are all throwing healthy offsprings at four 
and a half months of age, which I think is very young for birds to go to work. 

I am selling my squabs now to a party who takes them out of the nest, saving me the killing 
and dressing, and pays me $3 a dozen for them. In the fall and winter I will get from $4 to 
$5.50 a dozen for them, and all the market I can supply. — A. D., New Jersey. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

296 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



FIRST-CLASS MARKET FOR GOOD SQUABS AND PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN IOWA. 

I received six pairs from you two years ago and started to raise a flock from them. I purchased 
your Manual and followed it in every detail as far as possible and will state I have had fine 
luck. My flock now consists of 50 good mated pairs and they are working very well. I have 
sold some squabs and a few older birds. I receive $2 per pair for old and 75 cents per pair for 
squabs. I can safely say 1 have made a good profit on my purchase, as I paid $10 for six pairs 
of your birds direct from you. My order was sent in with Mr. J. Haas's as three of us took six 
pairs each. Two of us are still in the business, but he was compelled to sell out on account of 
moving away. I think that the squab business is one of the best. If one follows the instructions 
of your Manual he will succeed far ahead of anticipations. I am well pleased with my success, 
and now I am enjoying the benefit of my old birds, as I have squabs most of the time for my 
own table use and sell to customers here in the city. In the spring I will increase my flock. 

As far as sickness is concerned, will say that I have not had any. My flock is in the best of 
health and ha; no vermin. Others will fare the same as I have if they will follow the instruc- 
tions of your Manual in regard to care and feeding birds, also in keeping fresh water in pens. 
I have a hydrant in my yards and turn it on so as to keep a flowing stream at all times so I 
do not have any trouble in this way at all. I have my birds all marked so that if any one of 
them_ should happen to be killed or die I can pick out the mate and pair it off with another. 
This is also a very profitable plan so as to keep all workers in one pen. I have had no trouble 
in selling my squabs as the market is always open for Homers. There is a vast difference 
between the common pigeons and your Plymouth Rocks. There is a man here who raises the 
common pigeons which he sells for $1.75 per dozen, but there is no comparison between the 
two, as the Homers from your farm are so far ahead, and the consumers of the squabs say they 
would rather paymore and get good birds. We feel that there will be no opposition from him 
in the squab business as our price has not been kicked on yet, nor do I think it will be. I 
will send you a small order for some more birds in the spring as I want to increase my flock from 
your birds. I again thank you for past favors and will do as much as I can to push the squab 
business and to hold up prices. If you have an opportunity to refer any of your customers to 
me, you can feel assured I will say your firm is square and will do as you say. I would be 
pleased at any time to help you. I will do you some good here as our stock of old birds is 
not for sale. Our squabs are all ordered ahead of time, so let me know, as there is a fine big 
market here for your Homers and your birds will meet with the approval of any and all — ' 
W. G. S., Iowa. 

SPLENDID FIELD IN COLORADO. ONE HOTEL TAKING MORE THAN THIS LARGE 
PLANT CAN SUPPLY. The writer would like to know the names of one or two good poultry 
journals in which we can place an advertisement for partner in increase plant, which is at 
present 2000; 1200 of these birds are from your plant. Would like to procure 500 pairs from 
you to infuse new blood into our flock. Perhaps you might know of one who has some experi- 
ence in this line who would like to come to Colorado or Denver. There is a splendid field here 
for the business. We have but one customer, a hotel, which we attempt to supply. This hotel 
consumes 20 to 30 dozen a week. They pay us $3.60 a dozen dressed. Denver has many 
hotels and restaurants besides a great demand from the dining-car service from here to the coast. 
I have been in this business 14 months. I sent for your squab book four years ago and have 
gradually been drifting into the business. My wife looks after every detail of the plant while 
I have been working at the tin trade, which I soon hope to abandon and take up the squab 
business exclusively. We have solved the problem of keeping down the mites and have little 
or no disease among the birds. I hope in the next two years to have a squab plant worthy of 
the name. Any advice you can give to help the cause will be appreciated. If possible, would 
like to have the name of some party who would come West to engage in the business, with 
whom we might correspond. — H. J. D., Colorado. 

CHICKEN RAISER OF FD7E YEARS' EXPERIENCE IS PLEASED WITH HIS SQUAB 
WORK. The last lot of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers came in fine shape. Some of them 
started to work at once. Five pairs have eggs and are setting on them, and six pairs now have 
nests. The first 25 pairs I received from you, June 12, 1908. I will take a snapshot of my 
place when I get my big squab house up. It is going to be a dandy for 300 pairs. You will get 
the order from me for the Extras. I think they are grand birds, and the squabs are so large 
they are bigger than chickens. I feed good grain and hemp seed and some rice. I clean my 
house once a week and sprinkle lice killer in the nest boxes. 

I have raised chickens for five years but squabs have got them down and out as far as I have 
seen. There are other little jobs of work you could do on the place with squabs, whereas if 
you have 600 chickens you have to attend to them from daylight to dark, and then some. 

I must say one word for your squab book, I think it is just grand. I would not take S10 
for it, and not have one, and I don't see how any one could get along without it, even if he 
was an old-timer at the squab business. — J. B. B., Missouri. 

BETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

297 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 




A SOUTH CAROLINA PLANT. 
What this breeder has accomplished here he tells in the letter printed on this page. 



GOING TO MAKE IT A REGULAR BUSINESS. NESTING MATERIAL IN THE MANURE. 

A little over a year ago I bought 12 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers from you. Now 
I have over 100 birds in my houses and have started to sell some squabs. I am more than 
pleased with my birds, they are doing fine. After a while I expect I will have to get a few more 
from you so as to mix in some new blood. 

My birds have averaged nine pairs of squabs to the pair for the year. I find the squabs at the 
killing age weighing from 13 to 15 ounces per bird, and for what birds I have sold, which has 
been only a few, I have received $3 per dozen. I have been holding most of my birds for stock, 
as it was my intention at the beginning to raise a stock before entering the market. I am 
feeding a scratch feed with a little hempseed about once a week. My birds have been perfectly 
healthy. Out of the original 12 pairs I have lost only four birds. It costs at an average of 
five cents a month per bird and I have in my houses 130 birds; which I consider a very good 
increase. I am more than pleased with the birds, and intend to go into it on a business basis, 
making it a regular business, and I do not see why it should not be a success. 

My houses are of the plainest kind, costing about $125. They will accommodate 300 birds 

I have one pair of birds that I have raised, which lay four eggs to the setting. This is the 
first incident of its kind that I have ever heard of. They will set on these four eggs for about 
10 davs, and then throw the eggs out, one by one, in consequence of which I lose the setting. 
These birds have done this thing on three occasions. Two of the eggs would be fertile and two 
infertile. I at first thought that perhaps some other pair had laid in the nest with these, but 
after watching carefullv I found that the eggs came from the one pair of birds. 

The manure from the birds is amounting to something and I would like to get the address 
of some good party who will take it off my hands so that I could communicate with them. 
Would you kindly advise how to get rid of the nesting material or do you let it go in with the 
manure? — T. L. O., South Carolina. 

Answer. Straw and feathers caked in with the manure are acceptable to the tanners. 
They do not like to get manure in which is a large amount of discarded tobacco stems, as these 
stain the hides. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

298 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



NOTE HOW THIS BREEDER BUILDS HIS SELF-FEEDERS. On December 20, 1907, six 
pairs of No. 1 Plymouth Rock Homers were shipped to me. I lost some squabs caused by the 
old ones eating green sprouts and from cats, but as soon as I made the floor tight and mended 
Ihe wire on the flying pen I had no more trouble. Now (September, 1908) I have 42 old and 
young, with those I raised mating up and starting to build their nests and lay. Mv birds are 
all in rugged health and are doing well, breeding fat, plump squabs. I have compared them 
with other breeders, but mine are far better. 

I give them plenty of fresh water for bathing and drinking and scald out the pans and drink- 
ing fountains with hot water once a week. I save the manure, as it has a ready sale and helps 
to pay the feed bill. I clean the nest bowls and floor once a week, sprinkle slaked lime over the 
floor, sprinkle a little insect powder on the squabs, and vermin does not bother them. I 
feed cracked com and wheat, one-third wheat to two-thirds com for winter, and for 
summer one-third corn to two-thirds wheat. In addition, I feed rice, barley, millet, 
sunflower seeds, Kaffir corn and Canada peas with a little hemp seed as dainties. I put a small 
trough below the holes of the self-feeder on each side. In this way, the grain which falls out is 
caught by the trough and there is little waste. I also have a protected box divided in halves. 
In one side I put health grit, in the other oyster shells. All the covers for my self-feeders are 
three inches wider than the feeders. This prevents soiling the grain, as pigeons are very par- 
ticular about clean grain. 

My squabs weigh eight pounds to the dozen. My birds have bred at the rate of from seven t~> 
nine pairs a year and one pair has bred ten pairs per year. The cost of feeding averages five 
cents per pair per month. 

I think well of the squab business and expect before long to buy more as it is a profitable 
business, considering the small capital invested. I use egg crates and orange boxes as I have 
found them best and cheapest. The unit system is best as it is easier to keep track of several 
small flocks rather than one large one. 

A person breeding pigeons must study and learn their birds to make a success of it. 

I have read and re-read your squab book and think for clearness of description, plain explana- 
tions, and good clear illustrations it is the best live-stock book I have ever seen. When in doubt 
consult the Manual. — J. Y. E., West Virginia. 

FLOCK INCREASED FROM SIXTY TO THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY IN EIGHT MONTHS. 

I got my flock of 30 pairs of Extras into their permanent quarters in February. 1 now (October 
5, 1908) have about 360 head of the finest young birds you ever saw. I have just put my flock 
through the moult and they have begun to work now in good shape. I have squabs now in my 
house that were raised by my young birds (the ones which I raised myself) and their second pair 
of squabs weighed over one pound each at four weeks of age. Is not that good work for the sec- 
ond pair that young birds raise ? What do you think of my increase in stock from 60 head to 360 
head in eight months; is that good work — .uot? 

I can get orders for all squabs I can r<*:-e at $3 per dozen f.o.b. cars here, but I have sold 
only one dozen and I got $4.50 for them. 1 do not care to sell any until I get a big flock of 
breeders. 

I am making some arrangements now to build squab houses and I want to get about 150 or 
200 pairs of breeders from you in the spring; as I want to get into shape to fill orders. I had 
an order the first of this month for ten dozen per week at $3 per dozen. This would have been 
a standing order for all winter if I could have handled it. I have one pair of young birds that 
laid four eggs, hatched and raised all of them. Has that ever happened in your flock? Write 
me what you think of my success and advise what price you will make me on an order for 100 
pairs of Extras. — G. W. T., Louisiana. 

FAMILY TRADE BRINGS HIM AS HIGH AS EIGHT DOLLARS A DOZEN FOR PLYMOUTH 
ROCK SQUABS. Enclosed you will find check and order for pigeons and supplies for $116.29. 
Please ship sundries by freight at once and the pigeons on July 23. The birds I got of you in 
February, 1908, are doing finely. Have raised three and four pairs each, squabs weighing at 
25 days from 14 to 19 ounces alive. I have several pairs more, all raised from your Extras, so 
I have about 155 birds altogether now. I am clearing out the chicken pens and filling them 
with pigeons, as I am fully convinced they are a much better paying proposition than the 
chickens. 

Several other firms have written me for orders, but as you took such pains with my little 
drib, and the birds have done so well, you people get the rest of the orders. I have the largest 
birds in the city, and they attract much attention from the hundreds of visitors at my poultry 
yards. 

The Manual is a gem. It is plain enough for any one and I really think I have it memorized. 
Have several other works on pigeons, but have laid them away. They are not in the same class.' 

The market is good here, my birds bringing from $4.50 to $8.00 a dozen, all family orders! 
I have worked them right into my chicken and egg customers. Could sell 50 pairs a day if I 
had them. — J. A., Pennsylvania. 

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

299 



EXPERIENCE OF PROMINENT WASHINGTON PUBLIC MAN 
BREEDING PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS 

I wish you would send me an outfit of your Extra 
Plymouth Eock Homers, mated and handed. I want 
to see how they will turn out. I have already 
quite a large lot of pigeons hut they are doing 
so poorly that I do not expect to keep them. I 
expect better results from the ones which I order. 

The letters from customers printed in this book are evidence of the wide- 
spread interest on the American continent in squab breeding not only for 
revenue and for one's table, but also as a pastime and instructive hobby. 
It will not be forgotten that the master mind of Charles Darwin evolved 
"The Origin of Species" from pigeon breeding. The ideas he conceived and 
the laws he discovered might have been worked out with other animals, but 
not within the span of his lifetime, with the thoroughness he accomplished, 
because pigeons breed rapidly, and in other respects are ideal for experiment. 

Prominent in political life at Washington are customers who give part of 
their spare time enthusiastically to this work. One of these ordered of us 
in January, 1908, as indicated by the letter printed at the top of this page. 
The next letter was as follows: 

I am greatly pleased with the birds sent me, and 
they seem to be all that you have said in regard 
to them. 

We wrote him in December, 1908, to interest him in our Carneaux, and 
received the following letter: 

I have your letter of some days ago in regard to 
the Homers you sent me. They were very fine, and 
I was well pleased with them. One disaster after 
another has followed these birds until now I have 
none left. Eirst, an owl got in among them and 
pulled heads off, which was followed by some other 
misfortune. I shall never experiment here again 
with them, but when I retire from the field of my 
labors and go back home, I certainly intend to 
keep pigeons. I thank you very much for calling 
my attention to your new Plymouth Eock Carneaux. 

We are not at liberty to print the writer's name. We call attention to 
this to point the moral that serious-minded men of large affairs turn to 
squab raising with lively and sustained interest. (Incidentally, another 
moral is. Beware of owls !) 

300 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



WON THE PRIZES IN 
TEXAS. My pigeons took 
first, second and third 

prizes and I credit it much 
to your good stock that 
helped me. — I. R., Texas. 

IMITATION GRITS A 

FAILURE. Enclosed find 
money order for which 
please send me 100 pounds 
of your health grit and 100 
pounds of oyster shells, 
pigeon size. I have tried 
other health grits that are 
sold nearer mv city but 
find my birds will not touch 
them.— H E. M., New 
York. 

READY MARKET IN 

MONTANA. I have about 
90 young and have sold 
about 125 squabs. I can 
get $3.00 a dozen plucked 
and no trouble aboutselling 
them. I have paid as high 
as $2 per hundredweight 
for wheat but am now 
getting wheat at $1.15 
per hundredweight ; corn 
$1.90. — L. E. Y„ Montana, 



ORDINARY QUARTERS. 
The Pennsylvania customer whose letter is printed on this page is doing well here. 

SEVEN PAIRS QUICKLY AT "WORK. ORDERING EVERY MONTH. The seven pairs of 
Plymouth Rock Homers arrived on April 24 in first-class order. Five nests are finished (May 7), 
one has two eggs and there are two other nests in the course of construction, which speaks 
mighty well for your stock, I think. I expect to send you an order the latter part of this month 
and intend buying every month. In that way I will not feel the investment so much. 

One could not ask for better stock than you sent me. I am well pleased and shall be glad 
to boost your stock among my friends. My neighbor is more than ever chagrined at the job 
lot that was shipped him from the southern part of the State and will undoubtedly send you 
an order before long. Thank you for the pains you must have taken in selecting my birds. 

(Later. August, 1908.) I write you to give you the address of a gentleman who is going 
into the squab business. You can use my name or not, just as you desire, but one thing you 
can use to him is my recommendation. When I return from my vacation, September 1, I intend 
placing another order for 10 pairs more of Extra Plymouth Rocks. My birds have done fine 
and as long as I get such birds from you, you can expect my order and all others I can throw 
your way. There is all sorts of rivalry here on account of the show in January. — J. B., 
Pennsylvania. 

YEAR'S TRIAL SATISFACTORY, AND 
GOING AHEAD. I thought you might be 
interested to know that the birds we pur- 
chased of you last January have turned out 
finely, we having lost but two, and this on 
account of flying against the wire, breaking 
their necks. We decided to give the birds 
a thorough trial for a year, being novices 




at the business, and I am sure as soon as the 
year is up, we will place another order with 
you, as your birds have been greatly admired 
by other raisers here, and they have done what 
you said they would. We have had no trouble 
in selling the squabs, which have ranged from 
ten to thirteen ounces each, receiving in nearly 
every case from 50 cents to 75 cents per pair. — 
C. W. C., Pennsylvania. 



LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

301 



MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 



TEXAS WOMAN DELIGHTED WITH HER 
PROJECT. I am enclosing an order for 
some Homers intended for a Christmas pres- 
ent to my young nephew, and wish you to 
ship the birds so as to arrive about the 24th. 
In March last I bought of you six pairs of 
Plymouth Rock Homers. My flock now 
(December) numbers 25 pairs, the first birds 
hatching the 16th of April, and I have seven 
hens due to hatch on the 17th of this month. 
I think my success has been creditable and to 
me very satisfactory. I have lost less than 
half a dozen young ones, and believe the loss 
of these was due to a lack of rock salt in the 
fly. My aim is to increase the flock to 100 
before beginning to market the squabs. 
Squabs sell in our market for 25 cents each 
and _ are scarce and in demand. My pen 
consists of a house 8x8 feet in which the birds 
roost, lay and hatch. Connected with the 
housel have a fly eight feet wide, 20 feet long 
and eight feet high; with which accommoda- 
tion the birds- seem perfectly contented. 
Many of them seem to know me and are not 
afraid when I go among them. I feed twice 
a day, about 8 a.m and 3 p.m., giving them 
what they will eat of whole and cracked corn, 
wheat, millet and Kaffir corn, when pro- 
curable. Occasionally I throw in bits of 
cabbage leaves which they seem to relish 
very much. I have your Manual and have 
followed instructions as nearly as circum- 
stances would permit, and with it as a guide 
and reasonable attention, do not see how 
any one could fail to succeed in a pleasant 
and pleasing pursuit. I believe it also 
profitable, even in my small way. I bought 
your fibre nest bowls and have them screwed 
to pieces that slip into the egg crates that you 
mentioned in your Manual. This makes 
cleaning the bowls and boxes a very easy 
matter. I intend in the near future to build 
another pen, divide my flock and test the 
question _ of " pigeons for profit." Thus far 
I am delighted with the project, but love for 
my birds may interfere with selling squabs 
for slaughter. My squabs weigh on an 
average of three-quarters of a pound, live 
weight, at about three weeks of age. I have 
had neither sickness nor lice, and on the whole 
am most highly pleased with my birds. — - 
Mrs. R.E.B., Texas. 

USES A WATER FOUNTAIN WHICH HE 
MADE FROM A BOTTLE. In February ( 1 908) 
I became interested in Homers and thinking 
they would give better results than common 
pigeons, I sold my flock of common birds 
and sent you an order for three pairs of 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers. Three days 
later I received them. Some friends of mine 
had Homer pigeons which they considered 
excellent birds, but they could not beat mine. 
My friends have been anxious to get some 
of _ my Homers, but I intend to keep all I 
raise until I have quite a flock. 



Up to date (October) one pair has raised 
six pairs of squabs since I received them. 
The other two pairs have done nearly as well. 
The common pigeons I had generally stopped 
breeding during the moulting season, but your 
Homers kept right on. 

I feed what is called here " scratch feed," 
composed of buckwheat, peas, Kaffir corn, 
sunflower seed, cracked corn, wheat and 
several other grains. I also give a tonic every 
Sunday with a little hemp seed. I use a 
feeder which I made, as shown in your 
Manual, and a water fountain which I made 
from a bottle. I have followed your Manual 




HOME MADE. 
For this little plant the breeder has utilized what 
he had; expending hardly a dollar. He has done very 
well in these rough and ready quarters, however, as his 
letter here printed shows. (See letter of M. J. H., 
New York.) 

in caring for my birds and think it is an excel- 
lent book. Sometime in the future I intend 
to give you another order. 

I send by this mail a picture of my place 
and birds. The small pen is where I keep my 
young stock until they mate. The one with 
the Homer in the window is where my working 
birds are kept. — M. J. H., New York. 



BETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 

302 



APPENDIX G 



There are about seventy different breeds and crosses of pigeons. For squab 
breeding the Homers and Carneaux have demonstrated their value over a long 
term of years in all kinds of hands and under all conditions, in all sections and 
climates and to-day are preferred above all other pigeons. Our experience of 
fifteen years selling millions of dollars' worth of pigeons and supplies to hundreds 
of thousands of customers is worth something to new customers. Customers 
play with other breeds of pigeons just as we do but the bills are paid by the squabs 
going to market from Plymouth Rock Homers and Carneaux. They are workers. 
That is the main point. They produce more squabs. We have experimented 
with many other breeds and have searched Europe for something better, but 
have not found it. The great successes in squab raising have been made with 
Homers and Carneaux. They are the universal favorites. Remember when 
buying pigeons for squab breeding that plumage is a secondary consideration. 
Work is what you want. Squabs are sold with the feathers off. 

"I handle the squabs of a good many other people here and notice that those 
that have Plymouth Rock Squab Co. stock are always sending me the best.'' 

The above was written by Stefan Schwarz of California when he was manager 
of the Pacific Utility Pigeon Association. What is true of California is true of 
every State and every City on the North American Continent. See the letters 
from squab marketmen everywhere telling the same impressive fact. Do you 
wonder why our sales steadily increase? 

"After experimenting with pigeons five years I have settled finally on the 
Homer as being the best all-round utility bird. At this writing I have seven pens 
of pigeons. I have three pens of Homers, all foundation stock Plymouth Rock 
stock. I find the market in this section is strong for squabs that weigh about 
eight to ten pounds to the dozen with a limited sale for squabs that run larger. 
The large consumers will consider only such squabs. They never buy anything 
larger." 

The foregoing was written March 2, 1914, by George Klarmann, the secretary 
of the Pacific Utility Pigeon Association. Both the above, Messrs. Schwarz 
and Klarmann, write not only out of their own experience, but also after mar- 
keting thousands of squabs of all kinds bred by others. 

ONLY CULLS ARE CHEAP, by H. A. involved, also depreciation on buildings, 
Parkhufst. Many prospective customers have stock, etc., to take into consideration. If it 
a vague idea of the value of good breeding stock. costs $1.65 to feed a pair of breeders per year 
They expect to purchase Al breeding birds, and $1.25 to raise a pair of squabs before you 
banded and working, for the price of old, worn- can sell them for breeders, we will say the 
out birds, or squabs. Now to get down to a percentage cost of feed for the old pair is one- 
few facts. In the first place, it costs about sixth of $1.65, or twenty-eight cents plus $1.25, 
$1.65 per year to feed a breeding pair of birds, or $1.53. In addition there are cost of ad- 
when formerly it cost about $1.25. Squabs vertising, interest on money invested, etc. In 
do not begin to mate until they are from four other words, the majority do not figure pro- 
to six months old, according to the variety. duction cost. I trust this will shed a little 
It costs $1.25 to raise same until they can be radiance to the purchasing public who think 
mated and sold as breeders. Then in addition they are being done when they pay over $1.50 
there are your overhead charges, such as in- per pair for Homers or $3.00 per pair for Car- 
terest on money invested, labor and time neaux. 

303 



304 



APPENDIX G 



MULBERRY STEMS FOR NESTING, by 
Gordon Lallemand. I started with two pairs 
of Homers and had a small, wooden pen and 
did not have very good success, but I gradually 
learned the ways and habits of pigeons. After 
that I built a new house unit with the pen 
nine by ten by fourteen feet. I now use sand 
all over the floor. I raise all the squabs I 
want to eat and sell lots of dressed squabs. 
I have found out that strangers are a great 
setback to mated pairs, especially those which 
have squabs. I have had pigeons leave their 
eggs and let the squabs starve because I let 
strangers go in or near the pens. In dressing 
I gather the squabs, cut their large jugular vein 
in the throat, tie the feet and hang up to bleed, 
then I pick and put in cold water. I do not 
cut open the squabs, but leave them as they 
are. 

For nesting, I use the small stems of the 
mulberry. I prefer the white. The pigeons 
seem to like these better than straw or tobacco 
stems. 

WEEDS FOR NESTING MATERIAL, 
by J. C. Snyder. Bitter weed tops are good 
for nesting material. It is a small weed that 
grows wild in Mississippi and is of no value that 
I can see except for the purpose I have named. 
It grows about two feet high and has a little 
yellow flower that is bitter, and if cows eat it 
the milk will be bitter. We have trouble dur- 
ing the summer on this account. The way 
I happened to try them was this. Two weeks 
before Christmas my nesting material gave 
out. I had been using pine needles and couldn't 
spare the time to get more, so just went out 
in the pasture a few hundred yards from my 
pigeon lofts and broke off the tops of the weeds. 
They broke easily because they were dead 
from the cold weather. I took an armful 
back and put them in the loft and when I 
went in to feed that evening it was all gone. 
Looking around, I saw lots of new nests and 
in a few days lots of eggs, and now I must 
say I have more squabs than at any other 
previous time, and I can attribute it to these 
bitter weed tops, as they like them better 
than anything I have yet found. 

ATTRACTIVE PACKAGE, by Mrs. Walter 
J. Wilcox. For five years my husband has 
been reading about squabs. At last he is 
fairly launched into the business and is so 
busy that I am writing for him. Last summer 
in his spare time he built a house eight by 
twelve feet and covered it with flexible asphalt 
roofing paper; red roof and gray walls. The 
house is divided into two pens, one for Car- 
neaux and the other for Homers. It was 
ready for birds September 1, 1914, and in 
spite of skeptical neighbors and laughing 
friends, I bought twelve pairs of Homers, 
colored and white, also four pairs of Carneaux, 
one pair solid yellow, one pair of solid red and 
two pairs of splashed, from Mr. Rice. Our 
neighbors are beginning to sit up and take 
notice now, for all our trade has come to us. 



We have disposed of all our squabs and have 
orders ahead. The squabs go to family trade, 
for as yet we haven't enough at a time to send 
to market. My husband dresses them ready 
for cooking, then each squab is wrapped in 
parchment paper, fastened with gummed tape, 
then packed in boxes containing four. This is 
wrapped in lavender paper with string to match. 
On top of this neat package he has a printed 
label with our trade name, and it is just the 
thing to go through the parcel post. Perhaps 
you will think a lot of time is wasted in doing 
up such a package, but have you noticed 
how anything in an attractive package or box 
appeals to the ladies? And it's the house- 
keepers who buy our squabs, so why not try 
to please? 

I feed and water the pigeons every morning. 
It gives me a chance to watch the interesting 
little things and leaves my husband more time 
for killing and cleaning the latter once a week. 
He has found a scratch feed such as is given 
to chickens to be very satisfactory mixed with 
a liberal amount of peanuts. He is fortunate 
in being supplied with tobacco stems from the 
local cigar stores and uses them for nest ma- 
terial. Just now he is having a new pigeon 
house built thirty-six feet long. This is only 
a side line or hobby with us, as my husband 
has a Government position, also is tenor soloist 
in one of the large churches. 

HOW I RAISED THE PRICE FROM $3 
TO $5 A DOZ., by R. M. Ayres. As I enjoy 
reading the experiences of others, I thought 
some one would enjoy reading some of mine. 
My start was on a very small scale, but after I 
had a little experience I invested in a small flock 
of Homers and Carneaux, buying them from 
the people who I think have made the squab 
business what it is today. From these I have 
raised quite a flock. 

One of the lessons I have learned is that it 
doesn't pay to put too many pigeons in one 
pen. I think twenty-five pairs are plenty. I 
believe I can get as many squabs out of twenty- 
five pairs as I can out of thirty-five or forty 
pairs in the same pen. 

A word about feed. I read of a number who 
get large, fat squabs without using any Canada 
peas. I cannot see how they do it. Just as 
soon as I quit using peas my squabs commence 
to lose in weight. I feed a mixture of peas, 
cracked corn, kaffir corn, buckwheat, millet 
and wild-grass seed. 

As to the market end of the business, that 
has been easy. I have been able to sell all I 
can raise, at prices ranging from $4 to $5 per 
dozen. When I started I was selling them at 
$3 per dozen, but I soon found that did not 
pay, so I kept pushing the price up until I got 
it up to $5 a dozen, and my customers pay 
that just the same as they did the lower price. 

I use the post-card method of advertising, 
which I think is the best, as it reaches just the 
ones you want to reach, while the advertise- 
ment in the ordinary daily paper is not read 
by the class of people that you are after. 



APPENDIX G 



305 



I TAKE SQUABS TO 
MARKET IN A BASKET, by 
Thomas Hanigan. Four and 
a half years ago I bought 
twelve pairs of first-class 
Homers. They proved so in- 
teresting and convincing that 
I bought six pairs more a few 
months later. These were all 
I ever purchased, but they 
bred so well there are now 
250 full-grown birds, and I 
have been marketing nearly 
all the squabs for the last 
year. 

I never had any pigeons 
before, so I studied their hab- 
its and requirements as I 
went along, aided by the 
standard literature on the 
subject. 

In these four years, but two 
of the pigeons " went light " 
and there have been but six 
cases of canker with the 
squabs, never any with the 
old birds. There never has 
been any sickness. One night 
there was a commotion in the 
flock. Taking my lantern, I 
went to investigate and found 
a rat in the loft, which I killed. 
I concluded that the only way 
the rat could have got in was 
by climbing a post of the fly- 
ing pen, which was against 
the barn and near the opening 
to the loft. To guard against 
its occurring again I took a two-foot strip 
of zinc . and nailed it around this post, and 
have never seen another rat. There has been 
no trouble with lice or mites, for I used to- 
bacco stems when I could get them, for nest- 
ing material, and I spray a little phenol dis- 
infectant around the loft every time I clean 
out. 

My regular employment as baggage-master 
on the railroad makes it necessary for me to 
leave the house at 6 o'clock in the morning 
and I do not get home again until 7.30 at 
night. This forces me to feed and water very 
early in the morning, and kill the squabs for 
market in the evening. Cleaning out the 
pen is a once-a-week job, left until Sundays. 
This does not take very long. 

My staple feed is red wheat and cracked 
corn the year round, in the proportions of 
two-thirds wheat to one-third cracked corn in 
summer and the reverse in winter. For 
change and luxury, I give a little kaffir corn, 
millet, buckwheat and hempseed. Health 
grit, which I buy regularly, fine ground oyster 
shells, lump salt and straw are kept before 
them all the time, and common gravel on the 
ground of the flying pen. 

The one hundred pairs of Homers which are 
mated supply me with an average of two 
dozen squabs a week for market. Killing 
them in the evening, as I am obliged to do, 




MR. HANIGAN'S SQUABS WEIGHING A POUND APIECE. 



there is some food left in their crops. I 
neither bleed, pick nor dress them, for this is 
the way I sell them at the Boston market. 
They weigh a pound apiece. As my run on 
the train takes me to Boston every day, I put 
the squabs in a basket and carry them with 
rne. There I sell them to the marketman who 
will give me the best price. There is never 
any trouble in selling all I can raise. Last 
week (the first week in April), I got $3.60 a 
dozen; the week before, $4 a dozen; and the 
week before that, $4.50 a dozen. Selling in 
this way there is no bother of picking, pack- 
ing, icing nor paying express charges. I have 
never tried to sell any squabs to the summer 
people who come to my town, for they seem to 
think I ought to sell them cheap because I am 
in the country. 

ENJOY GREEN THINGS, by Edward Rob- 
erts. I have a new idea. Pigeons eat water 
cress and radish tops, also green mustard 
leaves, and they like all. I feed them all the 
bread they can eat. 

One pigeon laid an egg in a nestbox with 
no bowl and without even building a nest, so 
I put straw in a nestbowl and placed the egg 
in it. She took to it right off and laid 
another egg in two days, by its side. She is 
setting now. — L. Franklin. 



506 



APPENDIX G 




APPENDIX G 



307 



I GIVE UP CHICKENS 
IN FAVOR OF SQUABS, 
by Thomas F. Cook. Two 
years ago I had had no 

experience whatever with 
squabs, in fact had no inten- 
tion of ever raising any, 
when a gentleman living 
near me, who was forced by 
lack of time to sell his pens 
of birds, numbering about 
400 Homers, offered them 
to me, and as I had read 
quite a bit at that time of 
how well others were doing 
raising squabs, I decided to 
try my luck. Of course 
moving them disturbed 
them but after a few weeks 
they settled down to work 
and were doing very fairly, 
when some one told me 
where I could buy some very 
cheap feed, viz.: frozen 
Manitoba wheat, which 
turned out to be the dear- 
est feed I ever bought. 
The pigeons did not like it 
and would not eat it if they 
could help it, but I kept 
feeding it to them as I 
thought it was cheap and 
plenty good enough for pig- 
eons. The result was they 
got poor and practically quit 
laying, and the few squabs I did succeed in 
raising were s^ thin I could not market them. 

It took me months to get them back in good 
trim again, but I finally succeeded in_ doing 
so and they were paying me very well indeed 
when one night in last August my barn was 
burned down and the pigeon house with it. I 
managed to save about 100 birds, but their 
breeding was over for some time till I could 
get another house and pair them up again, 
but I had seen plainly that, rightly managed, 
there was money in squabs so hearing of a lot 
of about 900 that were for sale in Thornhill 
(about 15 miles from here) I bought them with 
the building they were in (a one-story frame 
structure fifty feet long by fifteen feet wide) , 
shut the birds up in the house and pulled the 
flying pens down, then sawed the whole build- 
ing in two through the centre pen. We 
moved it up here on trucks and set it down on 
a good foundation and built twenty more feet 
in the centre of the one we moved, making a 
building seventy feet long. 

It was quite a bit of trouble and expense 
moving the building that way but it paid me, 
as the birds went right on breeding, in fact 
with the exception of a very few eggs that 
rolled out of some of the nests they did not 
seem to know they had been moved. 

As a main feed I use corn, Canada peas and 
buckwheat alternately, with a little hemp, 
kaffir corn and wheat as dainties, also plenty 
of grit and a lump of rock salt always in each 
pen, also lots of clean water before them at all 




SQUAB PLANT MOVED FIFTEEN MILES. 



times, and a bath placed in each flying pen 
every morning during the summer. In the 
winter I give them a bath only on nice bright 
days when it is warm enough so that there is 
no danger of the water freezing. 

I might say that all my birds are thorough- 
bred Homers. I intend to buy some Car- 
neaux later on and intend to cross with the 
Homers, as of course the larger the squabs the 
more I can get lor them. My squabs now 
average about nine to ten pounds to the dozen. 

I have been raising quite a lot of chickens, 
but am gradua)ly_ dropping them and intend 
to increase the pigeons, as they pay better, 
take up less room, are less trouble, and the re- 
turns come in every week. There is no slack 
time with them as far as my experience goes. 
Under proper conditions and right treatment 
they breed every month in the year. 

HOW TO GET GOOD FEEDERS, by 
James Y. Egbert. Feeding qualities of pig- 
eons in a flock vary almost as much as the 
number of birds in the pen. Some feed their 
young early and often and stuff them full, 
making large, plump squabs. Others feed 
moderately and their squabs are not so fat. 
Some parent birds can raise three and oc- 
casionally four squabs, but the latter is rare. 
A squab breeder should observe his birds and 
mate those of good feeding qualities. In this 
way he would build up a flock of large, sturdy, 
well-fed birds. Good feeding qualities are 
handed down from one generation to another 



308 



APPENDIX G 




HOW A FERTILE EGG LOOKS AFTER SIX DAYS. 
The nucleus with the veins radiating from it may be 
clearly seen at this time. The white space at the end 
of the egg is the air space. Around the egg inside 
may be seen the white membrane lining. 



HATCH ONLY EGGS OF THE LARGEST 
BIRDS, by M. C. Martin. Many buyers of 
limited means who wish to start with six or a 
dozen pairs of Homers, demand the very 
choicest'rbirds to breed their flock from, i.e. 
they insist that all be the very best or "top." 

As a matter of fact birds are not all the 
same size and weight. Just like buying 
apples. You have to take them as they come. 
They are already " sorted " and the merchant 
will not pick them for you. So with birds. 

The writer desired to breed up a flock of 
the very finest Homers and Carneaux and this 
is how he did it. 

In a dozen pair about half of them will be 
exceptionally fine and the rest only ordinary. 
Whenever one of the smaller birds lays, you 
will find that at least one of the largest hens 
has done the same. Throw away the eggs of 
the smaller bird and substitute for them the 
eggs of the larger bird. The smaller pair will 
hatch out the eggs of the large pair of Homers. 

In about ten days or two weeks the large 
hen will lay again. Repeat the process three 
or four times and then let the large hen set and 
hatch out her own eggs. When she lays 
again rob her nest and so on as before. 

If you cannot find enough small birds to 
hatch the large ones continuously, of course 
do the next best thing. Always make the 
smaller pairs hatch the eggs of the large ones 
and never their own. 

In this way you will get almost as many 
birds in a year from the very largest, as in the 
natural way you would have raised from large 
and small both. This would hardly pay in 
raising squabs for market, but it assuredly 
pays when increasing your flock of birds. 

The same plan may be used with the Car- 
neaux or any other high-priced birds. Use 
the small Homers to do the work of setting 
for your Carneaux and it is amazing how 
tepidly the large birds will multiply. 

In changing the eggs from one nest to 



another, you must be sure that the birds have 
laid about the same time (not over three days' 
difference) or the one setting will either have 
no bird milk in her crop or, if she has set too 
long, the milk will be so thick the little squab 
cannot take it. 

This is the only precaution necessary, the 
birds will do the rest. All eggs look alike 
to them, but unlike the chicken very few will 
set longer than nineteen or twenty days. 

Some might object to this method as being 
cruel and contrary to nature, but a study of 
the case shows that it is not. A pigeon has a 
short memory and a very strong nesting in- 
stinct. Rob the nest one day and the birds 
will many times go to nesting the very next 
day, showing that they are not very much 
" upset " and are willing to try again right 
away. Fifteen or more pairs of squabs may 
be raised from one pair of birds in this way 
without affecting the health of the old birds 
in the least, and the young are strong and 
healthy. 

A complete explanation of this method of 
forced breeding is found in Rice's manual, the 
National Standard Squab Book (see page 231) 
and the writer can testify to its verity, as he 
has tested it thoroughly and boasts of one of 
the finest flocks of Homers and Carneaux in 
the West, obtained by this method of forced 
breeding. 

After the eggs have been sat on for four of 
five days, hold them up between yourself and 
the sun, and if they are fertilized, you will 
clearly see a nucleus with a network of veins 
clustered^ about it. It looks just like the one- 
celled animal in the lowest scale of animal life-, 
such as the amoeba. 

If eggs are not fertile , they will appear trans- 
parent with only a small patch of red coloring 
matter within. Shake the eggs and they will 
be found to be spoiled. Throw them away 
and the birds will lay again in a week or ten 
days. If only one egg is fertile, look for more 
" bad " eggs, and many times you will find 
several nests with one good and one bad egg. 
By holding them before you in the sun or be- 
fore a lamp, you can with a little practice, by 
the appearance of the nucleus (if during the 
first week of incubation), match up the eggs 
just as well as to wait until each pair of birds 
hatches and then arrange the young two in a 
nest. 

Two or three weeks' time may be saved on a 
pair of birds by this method. My motto is: 
After five days, always have two fertile eggs in 
each nest. 

NINE OF TEN SQUABS FEMALES, by 
Dr. H. N. Kingsf ord. I bought a pair of Car- 
neaux in January, 1908. This has turned out 
to be a peculiar pair, in regard to the sex of 
the young which they have bred, as I have 
raised five pairs of young from them, nine of 
which were females, the remaining one a male. 
The first four pairs were eight females. I 
have four hundred pairs of birds. I use a 
great many pigeons in my work in teaching, 
I make them pay. 



APPENDIX G 



309 



HOW TO KEEP MICE OUT OF 
GRAIN TROUGHS, by W. L. Plumer. 

For those who, like the writer, have 
been annoyed by the depredations of 
mice in the self-feeders within the 
squabhouse a sketch is given show- 
ing arrangement which, while simple, 
has proven entirely effective against 
these little rodents. Squab breeders 
are in many cases losing a much greater 
amount of grain from this cause than 
they realize, as while it is compara- 
tively easy so to build the squabhouse 
that it is secure againsc the entrance 
of rats, the little mouse will in some 
way get in, and in numbers unsus- 
pected by the breeder unless he has 
paid a night visit to the lofts. At the 
time I followed the general custom of 
placing the feeders upon the floor, it 
was no uncommon occurrence on the 
morning rounds to disturb one or more 
mice which ha.d lingered within the 
I feeders from the night before. 

After some slight alterations the self- 
feeders were arranged in the following 
manner: In the centre of the unit or loft are 
placed two uprights two by four, thirty-two 
to thirty-four inches high and thirty inches 
apart, with strips four by ten inches on bot- 
tom of each, which are nailed to the floor. 
This together with two short braces gives 
the necessary support. On the top of each up- 
right is placed an inverted three-gallon crock, a 
board five by eight inches first being nailed 
to top of uprights, and on these the crocks 
rest rigidly. 

A NEW WAY TO COOK SQUABS, by Mrs. 
M. E. Slight. I clean them and split them 
in halves, then fry them in olive oil and 
butter, two-thirds oil and one-third butter. 
I first brown in the oil and butter, then cover 
them with water and simmer until they are 
cooked dry, then I slightly brown them again 
and make a cream gravy to eat with them. 
I ship my squabs alive to San Francisco and 
average $3 a dozen for them. I have sold 
some to the sanitarium also. 

BURLAP WINDOWS VENTILATE, by 
C. A. Herrold. I have two hundred Homers 
all working, and I am selling squabs from 
them that run from eight to nine pounds to 
the dozen. They bring me from $2.50 to S3 
in Chicago sold by commission men. I have 
no trouble in keeping my birds in healthy- 
condition. I think the first thing a beginner 
should learn is to ventilate the pigeon house. 
They must have pure air to breathe. Do not 
ventilate so that the wind will strike the 
birds. I think the roof should slope both 
ways, with a ventilator in each gable sixteen 
inches by twentv-four inches. The window 
on the south side should be taken out and 
left out in winter as well as in summer. Put 
a roller at top of window with gunny sacking 
to pull down in bad weather or in very cold 
weather. 




RAT-PROOF SELF-FEEDER FOR GRAIN. 



MISSOURI BREEDER SHIPS TO PITTS- 
BURG, by J. B. Beckman. It was a year ago 
the twelfth of this month (June) that I re- 
ceived the first twenty-five pairs of Homer 
breeders and I have at present two hundred 
and fifty pairs of working Homers, and fine 
ones, too. I have quit selling squabs in my 
town for they will not pay over $3 per dozen, 
so I ship to Pittsburg, Penn. I get $3.75 for 
nine-pound, and $4 for ten-pound squabs. 
My check comes every week, and it amounts 
to $12 to $15 a week. 

I can raise a good deal of my feed. I have 
fifteen acres of land, high up on a hill. I have 
about five acres of Canada peas, and the vines 
are loaded. I have kaffir corn and millet, and 
big corn, all for my birds, and about two acres 
of sunflowers — and all doing well. 

I have a five-horsepower gasoline engine for 
pumping mywater for my birds. 

We are going to enlarge our plant before 
fall for three hundred more pairs. With what 
buildings I already have I will then be breed- 
ing seven hundred pairs. I think things look 
good for me. 

FRANTIC OVER GREEN VINES, by Louis 
A. Hart. I am having fine success with my 
Carneaux. All four pairs that I bought have 
families, besides some of the squabs that have 
mated. I am enlarging my flying pen, en- 
closing a lettuce and a tomato bed. They do 
so much better with more room, and they go 
frantic over green Canada pea vines. 

1 am raising some very fine Homer squabs 
but not enough to supply the demand for this 
kind of stock. In my position as meat cutter 
in one of the highest class markets here, I 
have a good opportunity to market all the 
squabs I can raise. — Henry A. Lindenschmitt, 
Colorado. 



310 



APPENDIX G 



references ■ 

Fidelity Trust Co. 

Commercial Agencies 




.rsiflfg 



Telephone Calls 
5302-5303 WORTH 



Mr. Elmer C. Rice, Treasurer, 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co.j 
Boston, Mass. 



NEW YORK, 



Dear Sir: 

We are very pleased to note the signal success of the Squab Mag- 
azine, and the small card which we inserted with our name, has brought 
us numerous inquiries from all over the country from Squab Raisers, as to 
market prices and conditions, and has resulted in the receipt of ship- 
ments of some.yery fine birds. 

There is absolutely no. limit to the quantity of Squabs we can 
handle, and as our trade is constantly extending, we are anxious at 
all times to keep in touch with raisers of good Squabs. 

It is a source of satisfaction to observe the better quality 
of birds now being received on the market, due, no doubt, to the 
eliminating of poor breeding stock, greater care and attention given 
to the keeping and feeding of the birds, and more intelligent dressing 
and shipping. All this J3 due, we believe, to the educational 
efforts of yourself, and the testimony 1b present in the superior 
quality of the Squabs now being received, as compared with a few 
years ago . 

We endeavor at all times to give our shippers the best possible 
prices, make prompt returns, and are pleased to furnish all the inform- 
ation in our power. 

We wish to thank you for the courtesies you have shown us in the 
past, and with best wishes for success in your continued efforts to 
improve the squab industry, we are, 



Very truly yours, 



ISS/LiO 




APPENDIX G 



311 



HOW THE CITY MARKETMAN WANTS 
SQUABS, by A. Silz. Squab raisers should 
bear in mind that squabs should not be more 
than three co four weeks old when killed, and 
after being killed, it is very essential that they 
be allowed to bleed properly, by hanging head 
downward, otherwise the blood congeals and 
tends toturn the bird more «.r less dark. The 
best-selling squab, at all times, is the one 
which is perfectly white and free from blem- 
ishes. 

Within a short time after being killed and 
after being dry-picked perfectly clean of all 
feathers, it is a good plan to immerse the 
squabs in ice-cold water until such time as 
they are to be packed for shipment. They 
should never be held for any length of time, as 
it tends to make the birds flabby, and by the 
time they get to the dealer, who places them 
to the trade, they present a very stale, unde- 
sirable appearance, and in the majority of 
cases, must be sold at a sacrifice as a result of 
this condition. 

We receive, from time to time, among the 
fancy squabs, some nice, large, plump birds 
which would otherwise be perfect were it not 
for one or more red blotches which appear on 
the back of the bird and detract from its 
appearance to such an extent that high-class 
trade will not touch them at all. If squab 
raisers can arrive at some method by which 
these red blotches will be eliminaced they will 
very naturally benefit, as the birds will bring 
better money, at all times, where this con- 
dition is not apparent. 

During the summer months, the squabs, 
after being properly cooled, should be care- 
fully packed between layers of cracked ice, 
using a layer first to cover the bottom of the 
package, then a layer of squabs arranged head 
downward, then another good layer of ice, a 
layer of squabs and so on, and when the pack- 
age is filled a good double layer of ice on top, 
so that the birds are completely enveloped. 
This will keep them thoroughly chilled and 
prevent any chance of spoiling while en route 





a SJLZ DRAYLOAD OF SQUABS FOR ONE OF THE TRANS 
ATLANTIC STEAMSHIPS. 



A SILZ. 

to the dealer. Care, however, must be exer- 
cised, even here, that too many squabs are not 
put into a package. It is better to use a 
little more ice and not pack the squabs very 
tightly, as this all tends to bring them to 
market in the best possible condition. 

WHY, WHEN, HOW TO TRANSFER 
SQUABS. It is a noticeable fact to all squab 
breeders that there is apt to be a difference 
of size between the two squabs in a nest when 
they are three days old and upwards and that 
the difference in size becomes more apparent 
the older they get until they are pretty well 
feathered. This condition is found less with 
Homers than with any of the other breeds, 
but Homers are not exempt from it. The 
reason for it is that one egg hatches from one 
to two days before the other. As soon as 
the first one hatches the parents begin to 
feed it and it will double in size in a day or 
two so that when the second squab hatches 
it is only half the size and strength of the 
first one. Have a flat-bottomed 
basket or box with a handle 
that you can carry on your arm. 
With this go through all your 
nests twice a week and even 
up the sizes of the two squabs 
in each nest. First, take a 
hasty glance through the nests 
in a pen to get an estimate of 
how many pairs of squabs need 
attending to and their relative 
sizes. Then take one of an 
uneven pair and put in the 
nest of another uneven pair 
so that the two will exactly 
match, remove the third one 
thus formed and either put it 
in the first nest or in some 
other so that they will exactly 
match in size and so on. If 
there is a nest with but one 
squab do not hesitate to put 
another with it if it be of the 
same size. 



312 



APPENDIX G 




SQUAB PEN FOR POULTRY SHOW. 
This is good advertising for a poultry show, much better than merely 
showing the old birds for a stranger to squabs is intensely interested in see- 
ing the young and actually realizing how quickly they grow to market size. 



HOW I SELL SQUABS FOR SIX DOLLARS 
A DOZEN, by Lynn L. James. My intro- 
duction to squabs came through buying only 
three pairs of Homers a year ago, or to be 
mere exact, on February 15, 1908. I was 
then, and had been for some years, a breeder 
of high-grade poultry, single comb white, buff 
and brown leghorns. I had read a good deal 
about squabs and being over-cautious, per- 
haps, started with only the three parrs. 

I bought them at the right place and my 
experience with them was so encouraging, 
they did so well, that on July 25, 1908, I in- 
vested a hundred dollars in sixty pairs more 
from the same concern. These have kept on 
with the good work and this month I am 
buving fifty pairs more. 

I certainly have had unbounded success 
and now have a house of four units more under 
construction. I have five units full of breed- 
ers and cannot get enough squabs for my 
trade. I have no competition in my Pennsyl- 
vania city, and the enclosed card will show 
you my prices. 

I have discarded poultry entirely. All 
pigeons for me. As the old saying goes, they 
have chickens " beaten to a frazzle " — and i 
did exceedingly well with them also. 

The accompanying photograph shows my 
exhibition cooo at the poultry show here. I 
built that exhibition pen for the poultry show 
after my own ideas. The nests contained 
squabs of all ages with the old birds caring for 
them, all finished in red and white same as my 



coops are. The news- 
papers gave it a good 
notice. 

I have exhibited at va- 
rious places this fall and 
winter in hot competition 
and taken all the first and 
second prizes, and it all 
helps my advertising as 
my cards, etc., are all 
trade-marked. I am breed- 
ing from two hundred 
pairs now, getting from 
$3.50 to $6 per dozen. I 
sold $24 worth of squabs 
yesterday and turned 
away telephone orders 
amounting to $12.50 since 
noon to-day, but won't do 
that. long. 

People here say they 
never saw such large 
squabs. I am getting the 
whole city stirred up over 
it. 

The mortality list is very 
small compared with chick- 
ens, and squabs are less 
work, while for profit, well, 
chickens may as well quit 
trying. I have all three 
hospitals ordering squabs, 
and hotels clamoring for 
even the smallest. It's 
great, I tell you. Guess I 
have blown my own horn enough, but I get 
enthusiastic over it and forget to stop. 

The card which Mr. James refers to in his 
letter above is what is known as a private post- 
card. On the front is a place for the one-cent 
stamp and the address of the customer. On 
the back is the following printed matter, the 
places for the prices being left blank and filled 
in by pen when the card is sent out. 
(Italic type indicates what is filled in by pen ) 



/ Trade Mark \ 
\ appears here / 



EAT 



Squabs 



We are pleased to quote you prices on fresh 
Squabs for the month of February, igog,. a? 
follows : 

Prime, 10 lbs. to doz., per doz. $6.oo 

No. 1, 8 to 9 lbs. to doz., per doz. $5-2SS-50 
No. 2, 6 to 8 lbs. to doz., per doz. 3-75-4-50 

Unpicked Squabs twenty-five cents per 
dozen less the above prices. Telephone orders 
given prompt and careful attention. Bell 
Phone 1208-R. People's Phone 710-R. 

JAMES' SQUAB YARDS 

Mr. James sends out the above postal care* 
(no letter under a two-cent stamp needed) to 
past and prospective customers, once a week, 
or as needed, and they order by either of the 
two telephone systems or by postal or letter. 



APPENDIX G 



313 



HOW TO MAKE A CHEAP 
SHIPPING CRATE, by F. B. Shepard. 

The crate we use for retail, or indi- 
vidual, trade in dozen lots as shown in 
the picture is made of strips of any 
light, tough wood except pine, as the 
odor from pine might taint the squabs. 
The strips should be sand-papered so 
that the crate will look and be clean. 
The cover is fastened at the back with 
wire loops, not hinges. The cover is 
fastened at the front with pieces of iron 
wire three inches long, which you bend 
around the heads of two nails. The 
strips of wood are seven-eighths of an 
inch or one inch wide. The nails 
are wire brads, three-quarters of an 
inch long, not only driven in but 
clinched where possible. 

Each squab is wrapped in waxed 
paper. Six squabs are put on the 
bottom of the crate, breasts up, and 
six more on top, breasts up, thus the crate be- 
ing filled. 

The express company is conquered by such 
a crate. It is so light (it weighs only seven- 
teen ounces), that the additional express 
charges amount to little or nothing. It has 
cost less than would be asked to transport it 
back home, so your customer can keep it. 

SELLING- 2000 DOZEN SQUABS A WEEK, 
by Ray S. Long. A short time ago I had 
occasion to step into the New York store of 
Heineman Brothers, to see how their business 
was, and it is needless to say that I was greatly 
impressed with their methods of handling 
their big trade. They have a very large, 
spacious building in Washington Street well 
equipped with every modern appliance for 
carrying on their extensive business, which is 
located in one of the busiest sections of lower 
New York. They handle all kinds of poul- 
try, game, etc., but that which most attracted 
my attention was the enormous trade in 
squabs. This trade is attended to in a very 
quick and efficient manner, consequently they 
have to have plenty of squabs on hand in 
order to supply the demand, which calls for 
from fifteen hundred dozen to two thousand 
dozen squabs weekly, most of which are used 
by many of the large hotels, restaurants and 
steamships They are at all times in a 
position to handle good squabs and pay the 
highest prices for them, as they cater to a 
fancy trade which demands a good squab, one 
that is white and plump weighing from seven 
and one-half to twelve pounds to the dozen. 
They pay the best price for birds of this weight. 
In packing for shipment, great care should be 
used in arranging the squabs according to 
size, color and general appearance. _ It takes 
only a little more time and attention but it 
more than pays one in the end, for the squabs 
command a better price. 

The squab market in New York is never 
overcrowded with first-grade squabs. I ad- 
vise those who are raising squabs to raise only 
A No. 1 birds, for then they need never fear of 




TEN-CENT SHIPPING CRATE FOR ONE DOZEN SQUABS. 

Inside dimensions, in inches, 14 long, 7 wide, 6 high. Strips are 
one inch wide. Weight 17 ounces. 



not finding a good active market for them at 
all times. Everywhere the trade is demand- 
ing good squabs and is willing to pay for them. 
It doesn't pay to waste one's time raising in- 
ferior ones, so get busy and produce the kind 
that is wanted. 

The Heineman Brothers are always ready 
to receive squabs, so do not be afraid of send- 
ing them too many fine ones, for they can 
handle any number. 

You will be pleased and encouraged to 
know that many of those who ship squabs to 
this concern state that their parent stock is 
from Mr. Rice's famous Plymouth Rock birds. 
Letters come to them telling of the good re- 
sults obtained which are simply due to their 
being started right by Mr. Rice, and it pays to 
start them right, for then one does not meet 
with the discouragements that many do who 
buy cheap birds; further, their trade is con- 
tinually demanding squabs raised from the 
Plymouth Rock stock, giving evidence of the 
sterling qualities of these birds. 

MATTING STRAWS FOR NESTING, by 
Edward Rice, Texas. A good substitute for 
tobacco stems is matting straws unwoven 
and cut into five or six-inch lengths. They 
make a thick and compact nest and the 
birds like them if they are sweet and not too 
old. In this way a cheap but good nesting 
material may be provided. Some may think 
that they are not good because they don't 
keep away mites and lice, but I think cleanli- 
ness is the best thing for that purpose anyhow. 

WIRE DOOR FOR VENTILATION, Dy 
Edward Rice, Texas. In order to give my 
pigeons plenty of fresh air I have removed 
the wooden door in my loft and put a wire 
one in its place. The air inside the house is 
always fresh. As the door is in the east end 
of the house it allows the sun to shine in and 
warm up things on winter mornings, and 
also al.ows the easterly breezes to blow 
through it in summer. Sometimes I close 
the door on cold nights. 



314 



APPENDIX G 







Sept. 24th, 1909. 



Mr. Elmer C. Rice, 

Treasurer, Plymouth Rock Squat Co., 
Boston, Mass. 
Dear Sir: 

We herewith wish to state,, that with all our numerous 
shipments, we take great pleasure in noticing the fact that 
they use your treed of birds. This class of birds has given 
us and our customers the best of satisfaction , we having no_ 
complaints whatever offered us during the entire past season. 

We have asked a large majority of our shippers where they 
at first purchased their stock to go into business, and find 
your name at the top of the list. 

There le none who takes such an interest in the breeding 
of squabs as your firm does, and we assure you that anyone 
purchasing your stock will be satisfactorily recompensed for 
his venture, and will always be perfectly satisfied with the 
Outcome of using your breed of birds. We can only say, they 
are the best for them to handle, and past experience has 
taught us they will make more money in shorter time, DOING 
BUSINESS DIRECTLY WITH YOU, than with anyone else. 



Yours very truly, 



^>$fr%X2L<^^ &L<q 



APPENDIX G 



315 



HOW TO TRAIN HOMERS 
TO CARRY NEWS, by Alfred 
Lloyd. To obtain best results 
in condition and endurance in 
the flying game regularity in 
feeding and exercise is nec- 
essary. We generally fly the 
birds three times a day. about 
thirty minutes to a fly, for a 
week or so. After that we give 
them one hour three times a 
day. Our first toss would be 
two miles; the second toss five 
miles; the third, ten miles; the 
fourth, twenty miles; the fifth, 
thirty-five miles; the sixth, 
fifty miles; the seventh, sev 
enty-five miles, and the eighth, 
one hundred miles. After that 
the birds ougnt to fly one- 
hundred-mile jumps right up 
to five hundred miles. 

Of course one might take a 
bird from the loft and jump it 
to five hundred miles and have 
it come back, but it is simply 
a chance. I jumped one my- 
self from thirty-five to five hun- 
dred miles, but it took five 
days to get home. 

The above training applies 
to mature birds, but for train- 
ing young birds it is different. 
Young ones should not be flown 
before they are three months 
old, and it is better to wait un- 
til six months. There are more 
Homers whose training begins at six months 
than at three. Young Homers should not be 
given more than a hundred-mile fly for the first 
three tosses. The best way is to give them 
tosses of three, five, ten, fifteen and twenty- 
five miles. After that, they can stand jumps 
from twenty-five to one hundred miles. 

The picture on this page shows an opening 
guarded with wires set where the window of 
the squabhouse generally is, or at the end of 
the flying pen. The bird pictured has just 
completed a flight and is about to push the 
wires further and drop down into the middle 
of the coop. As soon as the bob wires move 
out from a vertical position, the electric cir- 
cuit is made by the contact breaker and the 
electric bell rings to inform the owner that the 
bird has arrived home. Two cells of dry 
battery are shown in the picture, also the 
electric bell. The battery and bell may be 
set anywhere on the premises, even two 
hundred feet away in the residence of the 
owner, if desired. As soon as the bird has 
dropped into the pen, the wires fall back to a 
vertical position and the bell stops ringing. 
A battery of two cells would cost fifty cents. 
An electric bell costs about fifty cents. The 
wiring would cost half a dollar more. The 
bob wires and frame cost about twenty-five 
cents a wire. You can buy them with two, 
four or six wires, etc. The whole outfit is in- 
expensive, and is the source of much pleasure 




BOB WIRES WITH ELECTRICAL ATTACHMENT. 



and enjoyment. The bent wire and cord 
shown in the picture are for the purpose of 
raising all the bob wires by a pull from the 
back of the squabhouse, so that the birds can 
go out for their exercise. The cord is released 
so that the bobs will drop and be in position 
for tripping when the first bird comes home. 

HOUSE TO HOUSE CANVASS, by William 
H. Woodruff. As we have no very large 
quantity of squabs, our method has been to 
make a house-to-house canvass for custom- 
ers. This prevents creating demand without 
supply, as advertising would do. We have 
sold squabs for over two years and have al- 
ways received at least seventy cents a pair 
to private trade. We shipned a dozen to 
New York and got $2.55. Prom this express 
charges were deducted. The best plan, es- 
pecially with a small flock, is to build up and 
hold a good private trade. 

SALT BAKED IN CANS, by A. L. Thomp- 
son. I take a common empty tin fruit can 
and punch holes in the bottom for drainage, 
then fill with salt, and dampen, after which 
I put in the oven and bake hard. You can 
put these cans in any place in the squab- 
house and if you lay them on the side, the. 
pigeons cannot soil the salt. One end of the: 
can is open, the other end closed. 



316 



APPENDIX G 




MISS DUNHAM'S PROFIT-PAYING SQUAB PLANT, 



HOW TO CURE SQUABS IN NEST OF 
CANKER, by M. C. Martin. It is a well- 
known fact that Venetian Red paint is one of 
the best regulators for poultry in general. 
I have tried this on squabs repeatedly and 
it invariably cures the canker in three or 
four days. Have some Venetian Red paint 
in the squabhouse, and whenever you see a 
pair of squabs looking sickly, examine the 
mouth. If you find a cheesy deposit, take 
a pinch of the paint between thumb and 
forefinger and drop into the open mouth. Do 
this morning and evening for three or four 
days and the canker is gone. 

This plan may be used with old birds, but 
they very seldom have canker and are more 
difficult to catch twice a day, but with 
squabs it is a matter of only a few minutes to 
straighten up several dozen of them. 

Venetian Red is a fine regulator and may 
be used in the drinking water to ward off 
canker but to cure the ailment it must be 
administered in larger quantities as explained 
above. The droppings become red, showing 
that The paint has passed completely through 
the alimentary canal and cleansed the di- 
gestive system of impurities collected which 
have caused the canker. 

Venetian Red is a powder which retails in 
a paint store for five to ten cents a pound, 
but in a drug store you may be charged 
fifty cents a pound for it, and some poultry 
remedies have it in fancy package style at 
the rate of a dollar or more a pound. 

FLAXSEED INSTEAD OF HEMP, by Paul 
Gosser. I feed some flaxseed to my pigeons 
besides hemp. Flax is cheaper and the pig- 
eons like it nearly as well as hemp. My 
pigeons like lettuce leaves very much. In the 
morning I throw some into the pens and at 
noon they are all eaten. I sell all my squabs 
in Pittsburg. I get from $3 to $4.50 a dozen 
for them. 



HOW I MAKE MY 
SMALL FLOCK PAY 
WELL, by Mary Dunham. 
I bought six pairs of the 
best Homers in October, 
1904. After studying 
them and breeding them 
for a year I bought twenty- 
four pairs more in Octo- 
ber, 1905. In June, 1908, 
I bought twelve pairs more 
and in October, 1908, an- 
other twelve pairs. 

All of my birds were 
bought from the same 
source. They have all 
kept steadily at work. 
One pair has raised ten 
pairs of squabs a year and 
there are others which al- 
most eqwal them. In the 
fall of 1907, 1 began to save 
the squabs from the best 
breeders. I had to keep 
them in the house with my 
older birds because I had no other pen for 
them. They disturbed the breeding pairs 
somewhat but the following spring they 
mated and got down to work. 

I sell all the squabs I can raise to the local 
marketman. At first there was no sale for 
them in my Connecticut city, except in the 
summer when the wealthy people from the 
larger cities were sojourning here, but the 
marketmen bought all I had last winter. 

When ready for market my squabs weigh 
from two pounds to two and one-half pounds 
a pair. They are white and fat and the 
dealer has complimented me about them many 
times. I find the business very interesting 
and would like to engage in it more extensively 
if I could get more time to devote to the birds 
but it is impossible to do so at present. 

I am often praised for the fine appearance 
my birds make when out in the flying pen. 
Last week a gentleman told me my little house 
is the neatest and the birds the finest looking 
he had ever seen. 

NO NEED TO GRIND PIGEON MANURE, 
by Harry Howe. Having read in the maga- 
zine the different methods of handling pigeon 
manure for the making of commercial fer- 
tilizer, I will tell you the result of my own 
experience. I take the cleanings and then 
pack them in barrels. When I have several 
barrels of them, I form a pile outdoors con- 
sisting of a layer of manure, then a layer of 
loam, sprinkling each layer with air-slaked 
lime until it shows white. Keep on until 
you haye used all the manure on hand, then 
cover the top well with loam, and wet the 
whole pile. After a few days, when it com- 
mences to steam, it should be well turned 
over, repeating the turning over three or four 
times. You will finally have a fertilizer 
as fine as sugar which can be thoroughly 
dried and bagged, or used at once. This for 
a variety of crops cannot be beaten. 



APPENDIX G 



317 



WHY I PREFER 
SQUABS TO CHICKENS, 
by Mrs. Lizzie A. Trout. I 

wish to keep on increasing 
my flock of pigeons as I 
like the work better than 
raising chickens. I have 
learned that if one would 
succeed in squab raising he 
must like it and by so do- 
ing acquaint himself with 
the little things that are of 
great value to the success- 
ful squab raiser. The 
following are important 
points: care of the birds, 
what to feed, how to feed 
and when to feed. 

My squabhouse is built 
on the slope of a hill facing 
the south and as this is a 
warm and pleasant loca- 
tion I do not have frozen 
squabs in the winter. I 
give them tobacco stems to 
build their nests and by 
frequent cleaning give no 
chance for the lice to live in 
my squabhouse. I find that 
to give a varietv of feed is 
the best. A good mixture 
is six quarts of sifted 
cracked corn (not too fine, 
because if it is fine it takes 
out much of the meal 
from the corn, which 
otherwise would help to 
fatten the squabs), six 
quarts whole wheat, two 
quarts buckwheat, two 
quarts Canada peas and two quarts kaffir 
corn. Every other morning I give them a 
few handfuls of millet seed and twice a week 
hempseed. I think this is a good mixture for 
them. I also keep within their reach char- 
coal, salt, fine oyster shells and a grit of which 
the old birds are fond. Before I used this 
coarse grit, I noticed that a few of my hens 
would prefer being out in my outside pen or 
yard, and were in a constant hunt for some- 
thing, and trying to pick up bits of gravel and 
stone. It appeared to me that perhaps a 
coarse grit might be a help to these birds and I 
find it did the work well. 

I always try not to have left over any feed, 
or very little, until the next feeding time so I 
know that their grain will be sweet and clean. 
They will be more eager for their feed. I do 
not like the idea of throwing feed on the floor 
and they will get the feed more or less dirty 
even if you do clean the floor once a week. I 
feed in a box six feet long, two feet wide and 
three inches high. The birds cannot scatter 
the feed in this way very much. This box is 
large enough for a loft of fifty pairs as they 
never all feed at the same time. Feeding 
should if possible always be at the same hours, 
seven o'clock in the morning and four o'clock 
in the evening. This will give the birds plenty 




A beautiful flyer 
miles in one day. 



BLUE-BARRED RACING HOMER, 
bred by Paul F. Miller which has covered five hundred 



of time to feed their young before night. I 
wash my fountain and give my birds fresh 
water twice a day in winter and three times a 
day in summer. They are as glad for the nice 
fresh spring water in the hot summer day at 
noon as you would be for a plate of ice-cream. 

As to my choice in chicken or squab raising, 
I prefer by far squab raising. There is not 
half the work, with much quicker results and 
feed for the purse. No unruly hens to contend 
with. No squabs to run after when a rain is 
coming. They are already cared for. No 
lamp to fill and trim, no thermometer to 
watch, no eggs to turn, no trays to change. 
The old birds do all this work themselves. No 
wind to blow out the brooder lamp and chill 
the squabs at night. All this you must con- 
tend with if you want to raise chickens. 

Feed your pigeons the right kind of feed, 
give them plenty of fresh water. Then they 
will care for the squabs themselves and in 
four weeks' time the squabs will be ready for 
market. There is a field for prosperity in 
squab raising. 

When President Taft started on his 1909 
trip, he was given a banquet by the Boston 
Chamber of Commerce. One line in the menu 
was roast squabs, two thousand in number. 



318 



APPENDIX G 





^^^"^ 




.; 







FIRST-CLASS HOMERS, SILVER AND SPLASH. 

Plymouth Rock Homer stock produces squabs which sell for $3.50 to 
dozen in Utah, unplucked. 



SQUAB PIE, by James Y. Egbert. Dress, 

draw and singe four squabs. Stuff them with 
the chopped livers, hearts and gizzards and 
fine bread crumbs, mixed with chopped pars- 
ley, a large lump of butter, pepper and salt. 
Run a small skewer through the body of each, 
fastening the wings to the sides. Cover the 
bottom of your bake-dish with thin strips of 
ham. Season with chopped parsley, pepper 
and salt. Over these lay the squabs. Be- 
tween every two squabs put the yolk of a 
hard-boiled egg, and three or _ four in the 
center. Cover the squabs with a thick 
brown gravy. Cover this pie with puff-paste 
and bake in a moderate oven for an hour and 
a half. 

BRAISED SQUAB. Clean, wash carefully. 
Put a large olive in the body of each. Bind 
legs and wings neatly to the sides of the 
birds. Fry six or eight slices of fat salt pork 
in the frying-pan until crisp. Strain the 
fat back, lay in the squabs and roll them over 
and over in the boiling grease until seared 
on all sides. Take them up and keep hot. 
Add a tablespoonful of butter to the hot fat, 
and fry an onion, sliced, in it. Lay the 
squabs on the grating of the roaster. Pour 
the boiling fat and onion over them. Add 
a cupful of stock. Cover and cook steadily 
for three-quarters of an hour. When the 
squabs are done wash with butter, dredge and 
brown. Remove to a hot dish and make the 
gravy. Serve with currant jelly. 



STARTED SMALL, 
GREW UP BIG IN UTAH, 
by Walter Bramwell. Two 

years ago I purchased 
twenty pairs of the best 
Homers. Being cashier of 
a small bank in a country 
town, much of my time in 
the morning and afternoon 
was unoccupied. I sent for 
the birds out of curiosity 
and for recreation and 
study. They immediately 
impressed me as being very 
interesting. My little flock- 
commenced operations 
shortly after arrival and as 
they rapidly increased in 
number my interest in- 
creased in proportion. 

It required little time for 
me to discover that my 
Homers, properly handled, 
were money makers, and to 
that end I have built up a 
fairly large business, hav- 
ing now more than twenty- 
five hundred breeders. 

At first my plant was in 
a small town but in the 
meantime I have moved to 
the largest and best city in 
the State. 

The market conditions 
at that time were verymuch 
undeveloped and when I would mention squabs 
there would be a round of laughter from my 
friends. However, to-day, through persistent 
effort and the production of first-class squabs, 
the demand is greater than I can supply. 

During the present winter I will enlarge my 
plant to four or five thousand breeders, and 
later on will be prepared to furnish all squabs 
desired by my patrons. My customers con- 
sist of cafe, club, hotel and railroad officials, 
who buy the best, and whose patronage is very 
satisfactory to me, because I am not compelled 
to sell to commission men and can thus de- 
mand a larger price for my product. 

The price in this State is from S3. 50 to $6 per 
dozen, undressed. 

The future for the business here appeals to 
me as being a very bright one and I feel con- 
fident that my business stunt of squabs will 
reward me handsomely. 

The business is attractive and profitable be- 
yond expectation, provided the proper atten- 
tion and skill are exercised that would be de- 
manded in other lines where success is at- 
tained. I am delighted with my birds and 
business and trust all who are or may be in- 
terested in the same line will have their efforts 
crowned with success. 

PECULIAR COLOR RESULT, by C. C. 

O ' Ne al . About the young birds from the cross 
of two Carneaux males with two white Homer 
females, generally they are of solid black plu- 
mage, sometimes dark-shaded checkers. 



APPENDIX G 



319 



HOW A BIG OHIO 
PLANT SHIPS SQUABS, 
by F. J. Bunce. On Monday- 
morning while the attend- 
ant is watering, and before 
the birds are fed, the rounds 
of the pens are made and 
all of the squabs that have 
dropped to the floor over 
Sunday are placed in a crate, 
and these with enough more 
to make six dozen, are re- 
moved to the killing room 
for the early morning start. 
These are enough squabs to 
run the pickers several hours 
and give the breeders plenty 
of time to feed the young 
before more squabs are re- 
quired for the killing room. 

There is no set age at 
which a squab should be 
marketed. Some will be 
ready at three and a half 
weeks, some at four and 
some not until five weeks of 
age. _ If the squab on the 
nest is solid and plump and 
is full feathered under the 
wing, it is ready for the 
market. Do not hurry them off the nest un- 
less it be absolutely necessary to fill an order, 
as a few days longer on the nest may make 
ten-pound squabs of birds that would not 
weigh more than eight pounds if dressed too 
soon. 

We do not suspend the squabs from a string 
to pick them, as the most of the largo plants 
do, but pick them in the hand. Our picker 
has always contended that he could pick a 
squab while the other picker was hanging his 
up and taking it down. 

Place the left hand around the base of the 
wings after drawing them together and draw 
the head back between the thumb and first 
finger. Insert the killing-knife well back in 
the mouth and draw it sharply up and forward, 
twisting the knife as you remove it from the 
mouth. Care should be taken not to inserl 
the knife too deeply into the brain, as the bird 
will bleed too freely and cause the skin to set 
before the feathers have been removed. 

As soon as the incision has been made, re- 
move the wing and tail-feathers first, follow- 
ing this with the neck, and then the balance 
of the body. 

The squabs are then placed in the buckets 
to remove the animal heat. When the buck- 
ets become full, the bodies of the squabs are 
washed off, the blood is removed from the 
mouth and the filth from the feet, and they are 
placed in another and larger tub, where they 
remain until it is time to pack them. 

We wish to say here that we never leave 
the squabs in the tanks over night, if we can 
avoid it, as they are apt to get soft. If un- 
avoidable, ice the water heavily, but always 
do your best to get them out on the first train 
for their destination. 




EXTERIOR OF ONE OF THIS OHIO PLANT'S HOUSES. 



Never use a box for packing your squabs as 
some will recommend, for the simple reason 
that the express messengers will up-end the 
package, also pile other boxes on your ship- 
ment, and when it reaches your market, your 
commission man reports it arrived in bad 
order and you are given a nice little cut in your 
remittance. 

We use a small keg for small orders and a 
cracker barrel for larger shipments. First 
fill your barrel or keg with water and let it 
stand until it drains out to swell it, then line 
it with a good grade of white parchment paper 
to make it air-tight. This also helps the ap- 
pearance of your package. Before placing 
any ice in the package bore a small hole in the 
bottom of the barrel to drain off the water 
which would gather from the melting of the 
ice. Place a large scoopful of finelv cracked 
ice in the bottom of the barrel, then place in 
the barrel in very nice order a layer of squabs, 
a thin layer of ice and another layer of squabs, 
repeating until barrel is three-fourths full. 
Then fill to edge with ice cracked to about the 
size of a man's fist. Fold the balance of your 
parchment paper over the top, remove" the 
hoop, place a piece of burlap over the barrel, 
replace the hoop and drive down in place, 
holding it in place with small lath nails. 
Fasten your express tag to a strong cord or 
wire and run through the burlap, fastening 
same securely. 

Question: I have bought a set of steel 
figures to number leg bands but the figure 9 
is missing. Answer: To make figure 9 hold 
the figure 6 die upside down. None of these 
sets has both a 9 and a 6. One die serves for 
both. 



320 



APPENDIX G 




FLYING PEN WITH BOB WIRES. 
The small holes guarded by the bobs can be seen at the top of the flying pen, 
The pigeons cannot get out unless the bobs are raised. They can enter when- 
ever they please by pushing back the bobs. 



TWIGS ARE GOOD FOR NESTING 
MATERIAL, by James Y. Egbert. I have 
tried hay, straw, pine needles, leaves and 
twfes for nesting material. The birds will use 
twigs in preference to any other material, 
building a neat, compact nest lined with a few 
wisps of hay or straw. I cut the twigs into 
five or six-inch lengths and place them in a 
berry crate, then after the squabs are taken 
from the nest I clean the twigs and replace 
them in the crate. In this way, the pigeons 
use the twigs over and over again and the 
breeder does not have to supply so much new 
nesting material. 

I suppose that _ on the seashore, where 
Homer pigeons originated, they used twigs 
lined with dry grass in their nest building. 

I find it is a good idea, in preparing my 
garden, to plant a few rows of sunflowers, and 
in the odd corners or along the border 
scattered seeds may be sown. In this way 
& squab raiser can have all the sunflower 
seeds he needs for hi: pigeons at a trifling cost. 
Pigeons are very fond of these seeds and if 
a breeder raises his own the feed bill is cut 
down just so much. Sunflowers require 
little cultivation and will grow and thrive in 
almost any location. 

Question: Are squabs ever scalded before 
plucking? Answer: Yes, but it is not neces- 
sary, nor do the dealers want them scalded. 
They should be dry-picked. 



SEVEN YEARS' PROF- 
ITABLE EXPERIENCE, 
by P. A. Heiermann. I 

have been raising squabs 
for nearly seven years and 
have found it a good pay- 
ing business. I started with 
one pair of common pig- 
eons. After having them 
a few months and learning 
their habits, I bought ten 
pairs of good Homers. 
Their squabs were much 
larger than the common 
pigeon squabs. I then be- 
gan to save all of the largest 
squabs and banded them 
so as not to in breed, and 
numbered the bands and 
kept a record of them. At 
present I am getting from 
$3 to $5 a dozen for my 
Homer squabs dressed, 
according to size, but at 
wholesale I get $3.50 a 
dozen straight through. 

I sell most of my squabs 
at retail, and then cannot 
supply all my orders. 

The city in whi :h I live 
has a population of about 
sixty thousand and I have 
a home market for all the 
squabs I wish to put out. 
My squab plant is on the 
car line and can be reached 
from all parts of the city. 
I never have donated any squabs to get 
customers, but at first when I had no market 
for them I telephoned parties whom I thought 
would want them and I soon found places to 
sell. When I got a new customer I always 
gave him a few of my cards, and by so doing I 
soon built up a large trade, as a satisfied cus- 
tomer is the best advertisement. 

I feed wheat, cracked corn, peas, kaffir 
corn, millet, hempseed and other different 
kinds of grain, but I always keep changing so 
as not to feed one kind too long. I feed three 
times a day in long troughs, and do not use 
any self-feeders, but in the moulting season I 
do not feed so much. I always keep plenty 
of fresh water before them at all times, also 
grit, oyster shells, charcoal and rock salt. 

It costs me about $1.25 a year to feed a pair 
of breeding Homers. 

Question: Can you tell me how it comes 
that one of the pairs of blue checkers has 
an almost white-feathered squab? Answer: 
Colored Homers do not breed true to color. 
Blue checkers may breed blue bars, or blue 
checkers, or any other color. A white young- 
ster from colored-plumaged birds is rare, like 
a white calf from a black bull and black cow, 
and is generally called a throw-back, or re- 
version to one of several constituent types. 
The white Homers breed true to color as a 
rule. 



APPENDIX G 



32i 



WHAT ONE PAIR OF 
CARNEAUX PRODUCED, 
by Mrs. R. M. White. 
The first of May, 1908, I 
bought a pair of Carneaux, 
In fourteen months I bred 
forty from that one pair. 
I send you two films show- 
ing me feeding my pigeons. 
In my story you will notice 
that I say I fed some of the 
squabs after taking them 
away from the parent 
birds. I did this by chew- 
ing up soda crackers and 
then moistening them in 
my own mouth with 
malted milk. Then I held 
the squab to my mouth 
and fed the bird in the 
natural way. Any squabs 
may be readily nourished 
in this manner. As they 
grew older, I gave them 
grain by hand. 

In the upper picture 
Mrs. White is feeding two 
squabs in the natural way. 
In the lower picture she is 
feeding two squabs out of 
her hand. Her experience 
with one pair of Carneaux 
is quite a jolt to those who 
are afraid of inbreeding. 
Starting with only one 
pair of Carneaux, she has 
done more in fourteen 
months than another 
might with six pairs in the 
same period, having turned 
out a good-sized flock of 
two-score birds . Of course 
she could have a c c o m- 
plished nothing without 
inbreeding. It was all 
inbreeding, except the 
young bred by the orig- 
inal pair. Her flock are 
fine, large and rugged 
birds. This is the record 
of one pair of good Car- 
neaux in competent hands. 

DELAWARE HOTELS 
PAYING $4.50 A DOZEN, 
by N. H. Case. I can sell 

my four-weeks-old squabs 
faster than I can raise 
them. There are three large hotels in my 
nearest town in this State (Delaware) whose 
proprietors all say they will give me $4.50 a 
dozen, for as many as I can raise. They want 
them killed and bled. They offer me this 
price for both winter and summer. Each 
hotel keeper says he can handle from two to 
two and one-half dozens a day, so it looks as 
though there ought to be money_ in them — 
no expressage and payment on delivery. 




MRS. WHITE AND CARNEAUX. 



I am sure there is a fine opening here for 
squabs as San Antonio (Texas) is a city of 
100,000 population and nothing of the kind 
here. I never have seen anything but 
common squabs here and very few of them. 
A friend, Mr. Hobbs, is working in a near- 
by country town, and he says they are al- 
ways ringing up from San Antonio asking 
if they can find any squabs. — J. W. Mann, 
Texas. 



322 



APPENDIX G 




J^p^g^P^^^^^^ 



FRESH AIR FOR THESE NORTH CAROLINA PIGEONS. 



CANADA COTE BUILT OF COTTON 
CLOTH, by F. V. Dickson. It mav be of in- 
terest to your readers to hear something about 
a Canadian squab plant. 

Last fall I tried the experiment of building a 
squabhouse with cotton walls, two stories in 
height. Ordinary cotton, at ten cents per 
yard, was used. This was tacked to the up- 
right scantlings, which were set at a proper 
distance to suit the width of the cotton. Poul- 
try netting was put on outside of the cotton. 
On the east side, from which direction come 
our prevailing high winds, another thickness 
of cotton was put on. This house was cheap 
to build, and is light, dry, and airy. It is 
cold, but I have as vet seen no harm resulting 
from that cause._ A number of my birds have 
been occupying it during the past winter, and 
they have done as well, and raised as many 
squabs, as any of my other birds. At present 
the flock consists of about three hundred and 
sixty pairs of birds. For the squabs I get $4 
a dozen, the buyer paying the express charges. 

Question: What, if any, is the difference 
between the squab-breeding Homer and what 
is generally called the Carrier pigeon? If the 
Homer is not the same as the pigeon generally 
used for long-distance flights, can it be trained 
for such flights? Answer: There is no dif- 
ference between the squab-breeding Homer 
and the message-carrying pigeon. A carrier 
pigeon is a Homer which has been trained. 
There is a variety of pigeons known as English 
Carriers, but these are not used for message 
carrying. Everybody breeding squabs from 
Homers can fly the young which he is raising. 



NORTH CAROLINA 
SQUABS IN OPEN AIR, by 
Julius A. Caldwell, M.D. 

We have been experiment- 
ing with twenty-five pairs 
of the best Homers. We 
put them in a wire pen 24 
feet x 12 feet x 12 feet built 
against an old house whose 
roof projected out about 
five feet. This afforded 
some protection from the 
weather. I send you a 
sketch to show you the 
idea more in detail. Find- 
ing the work a pleasure as 
well as profitable, even in 
such an elementary manner 
as this, I decided to build a 
unit squabhouse and it is 
now built. I am buying 
some Carneaux to try also. 

HORSE RADISH AND 
SPLIT PEAS, by Edward 
Gerhard. A good tonic for 
pigeons is horse radish. 
Plant it close up to the fly- 
ing pen so the birds can 
get at the leaves to eat 
them. They are very fond 
of them. I feed my pig- 
eons split peas, which they enjoy. These 
peas do not cost me very much. I get them 
for seventy-five cents a bushel. It is the 
cheapest feed that I buy. With wheat at 
$1.20 a bushel, it does not pay to feed very 
much wheat. I am raising squabs weighing 
from twelve ounces to sixteen ounces apiece, 
with the help of my split peas. These squabs 
make the finest eating any one can have 
placed before him 

ONE YEAR'S WORK, by Ward Edwards. 

One year ago this month I purchased four 
pairs of the best Homers. _ I now have one 
hundred and thirty-five pigeons in all. Of 
course they are not all old enough to raise 
yet, but if they continue to raise as fast, by 
another year I will have over a thousand. I 
should have bought more breeders and not 
had to wait this long for them to multiply. 
I have followed the directions in Rice's 
Manual very closely and had no trouble with 
my flock. I have kept close track of my 
matings and have had little or no trouble 
of inbreeding. I sell many squabs to private 
residences and although raising to multiply 
have made a nice little sum along with it. 

Question: Is rye a good food for pigeons? 
Answer: If cheap and pure, it is useful in 
connection with the other grains, but most 
rye contains ergot, or false rye, which acts as 
a mild poison, harmful to both pigeons and 
poultry. The ergot grains are larger than the 
rye_ grains. When you buy rye, look _ at the 
grains and if they are not uniform in size and 
color, don't buy. 



APPENDIX G 



323 



FLOCK OF GOOD 

HOMERS, by Leroy 
Wiles. The two squabs 
in the picture are Homer 
squabs. The father is a 
large red checker and the 
mother is a black Homer. 
These squabs weighed one 
pound apiece, when four 
weeks old. They are 
black checkers. Both of 
them turned out to be 
males. One is now mated 
and has a nest with two 
eggs. I banded the one that 
is mated with one of the 
bands of the usual size 
and it would just go 
around his leg, so you can 
see what a leg he has. 
The little boy holding the 
nestbowl is my brother 
He is nine years old. I 
am nineteen. I think that 
he is going to be just like 
me in regard to pigeons, as 
he likes to go out with me 
and watch them eat and 
feed their young ones. I 
have some more squabs 
growing up and I think 
they will be fully as large 
as the two in the picture. 

I SELL SQUABS FOR 
FIVE CENTS AN OUNCE, 
by W. E. Blakslee. I have 
a way for keeping young 
squabs in the nests made 
around on the ground. I 
nail four pieces of board a 
foot long into box shape and set it over the 
nest. This keeps the squabs quiet and the 
old birds have free access to them all the 
time. The young birds cannot get over the 
top of it, and the old ones can easily get into 
it for feeding them any time. 

I find it a simple matter to work up more 
trade than one wants if you go at it in the 
right way. I adopt the plan of selling my 
birds by weight — five cents per ounce. When 
asked what my price is, and I tell them this 
they exclaim that they can buy all the squabs 
they want for forty-five cents apiece. There 
are many flocks of common pigeons in this 
surrounding country. I don't run down the 
birds that they are buying, nor do I stand 
and argue the question with them. I ask 
them to weigh the birds they buy and see 
what my price would make them cost. They 
find they are getting more six and seven- 
ounce birds than anything else and at my 
price they would cost only thirty and thirty- 
five cents instead of forty-five cents. They 
come back to me and want to see my squabs 
and are astonished at the size of them. They 
find I have squabs instead of jack-knives to 
sell. Most of my squabs are eleven and 
twelve ounces. I have some eight and nine 




MY BROTHER AND MY BIG HOMER SQUABS. 



and I have a good many twelve to fourteen. 
I have no trouble in making customers under- 
stand that they are getting meat for their 
money — for they have proved the fact to 
their own satisfaction. When you have the 
right squabs, your biggest trouble is too 
many wanting them. 

Question: Do you know of any way to 
dispose of pigeon wings? It seems to me 
that there must be some concern which buys 
them. Answer: The wings of the colored 
Homers are not used to any extent on women's 
hats, but the wings of white Homers or white 
pigeons of any kind are in active demand by 
milliners. Wholesale milliners try to buy 
these for ten cents apiece. They sell them 
to the retailers for thirty cents to fifty cents 
apiece, and when the milliner makes up the 
hat for her customer she gets from $1 to $2 
for the white wing. I would advise you to 
sell your white wings for at least twenty-five 
cents each. 

Question: One young Homer that hatched 
had a great deal of white in it, although the 
old ones were blue. Is this liable to hap- 
pen any time? Answer: Yes. The colored 
Homers do not breed true to color. 



324 



APPENDIX G 




WIRE NAILS INSTEAD OF CLEATS. 

Question: I would like to inquire if stale 
bread crumbled into small pieces about the 
size of corn would be good to feed to squabs. 
I dG not mean exclusively but at times. I 
have a large bakery and have considerable 
stale bread which I thought I might be able 
to use to good advantage in connection with 
the squab business. Answer: Yes. 

Question: Do pigeons breed as well on the 
seashore as inland? Answer: I think so. 
The species originated in the cliffs on the 
seashore, according to the ancient writers. I 
have seen a fine flock of squab breeders at 
Buzzards Bay, wheie they fly out over the 
salt marshes and get a good deal of their 
living from small snails, eaten shell and all. 

Question: Can peat moss be used for 
nesting material? Answer: Yes, and it will 
drive away lice. It is good for nests for 
setting hens (fowls) for the same reason. 
An attempt was made in Indiana to use this 
peat moss for upholstering furniture but this 
did not work very well. It is used for 
bedding horses. 



ONE DOLLAR FOR EVERY LOUSE 
FOUND ON MY BIRDS, by F. Beltran. 

As I believe in exchanging ideas, I am 
going to tell you about my last arrange- 
ment of nestboxes such as I draw them 
here. The whole thing is plain, lhe 
bottoms rest on only four nails, two on 
each side, that is all. My aim has al- 
ways been to have not the smallest hiding 
place for mites, etc., and when 1 could not 
avoid having them, then to have them 
movable so as to be sure to reach the pests, 
easily, whenever I wanted. Everything 
inside of my house is absolutely smooth 
and affords no hiding place tor those pests 
that live in the cracks here in our Mexi- 
can climate. The lice which live on the 
bodies of the birds would be also a thing 
of the past in every house of mine, if only 
the man in charge would keep as close a 
watch on the squab-raising pens as I keep 
on the breeding stock and raising pens, 
where I would give a dollar for every 
louse found on the bodies of the birds. 

SET YOUR STANDARD HIGH. It is 

not merely the birds, it is the intelli- 
gence and skill behind them. In buying 
breeding stock, whether pigeons or poul- 
try, of a man you are not buying simply 
his birds but you buy his knowledge, skill 
and experience. He has attained a cer- 
tain standard which may be high or low, 
as you can judge for yourself by reading 
what he says, and knowing his record in 
the business. All Homers and all Carneaux 
are not by any means alike. The best 
ones are furnished by the men of most 
skill and intelligence, because they have 
set their standard high and do business 
accordingly. The man of no standing may 
offer to sell you birds at half the price of 
the man whose standing is high, and it almost 
invariably happens that such birds indeed are 
found to be worth about half price, because 
the offering of them at a low price is a confes- 
sion of the advertiser that he has not a high 
standard and is not making his birds indis- 
pensable, but is satisfied to take the trade of 
people who want the cheapest they can buy, 
and such people are satisfied with poor stock. 

I have seen something in the magazine 
about high altitudes and dry climates. Up 
in this part of Canada it is very dry and we 
have to make our pigeons breed on the ground 
so as to get the dampness, for the eggs will 
dry out if they are up on the wall in nest- 
boxes. So we do not put more than twenty 
pairs of pigeons in a house twelve by twelve, 
and we let them build nests on the ground. — 
J. H. Smith, Saskatchewan. 

Question: Are pigeon wings salable? An- 
swer: The wings of colored Homers are not 
used to any extent on women's hats, but the 
white wings are readily salable to wholesale 
milliners. 



APPENDTX g 



325 



HOW TO TAKE PIG- 
EON PICTURES. Almost 
everybody has a camera 
these days and with a small 
one, costing two dollars, it 
is possible to take excel- 
lent pigeon pictures. The 
film can be enlarged to any 
size. 

Choose a day when the 
sun is out and take them 
in the flying pen when 
they are walking around 
on the ground. Do not 
take them while they are 
on the perches because 
then they are drawn out 
of shape. They strike a 
natural and handsome 
pose when they are on the 
ground. You should sit on 
a board on the ground. 
Hold your camera not 
over six inches from the 
ground and point it at the 
birds. Have a pocketful 
of hempseed and throw it 
out to the birds in front of 
the camera from four to 
eight feet from where you 
are sitting. Do not snap 
the birds while the} r are 
pushing and scrambling 
for the hempseed but wait 
until they have eaten and 
raised their heads expect- 
antly as if looking for 
more. This is the time to 
press the button. Try to 
get a group of the birds in 
this manner, showing six 
or eight birds. The best 
view of a pigeon is obtained 
broad side, but sometimes 
an excellent picture is ob- 
tained from the front or even from the back, 
such a view showing the width of the shoul- 
ders. Photographs showing squabs four 
weeks old alive or dressed or novelty pic- 
tures like the one on this page are always 
interesting. 

COMMON SQUABS TOO SMALL, by Charles 
F. Manahan. I watch and study the ways 
and habits of my Homers whenever I have 
time. I live near a summer resort in Mary- 
land in the Blue Ridge Mountains and have 
a small truck farm and haul my vegetables 
to these cottages and hotels. I think I can 
sell the squabs from several hundred pairs 
after I get them introduced, as there is nothing 
in this neighborhood but common pigeons. 
Where I sell them, the people say they are 
the finest they have ever bought. On one 
occasion I did not have enough and told the 
person that I could get a pair of a neighbor 
to make out the number. After I had the 
head and feathers off, I saw much difference, 
so I put the pair I got from the neighbor on 




GRANDPA, BABY AND SQUABS. 
I send a photograph of myself and grandchild, Miss Janet Pfister, eighteen 
months old, squabs just three weeks old. — Gottlieb Pfister, New York. 



the scales and the two weighed just a pound. 
I then put one of the Homers on and it 
weighed fifteen ounces, so the Homer squab 
weighed only one ounce less than the pair 
of common ones. 

Question: I have been contemplating for 
two or three months trying the squab business. 
I wrote to a commission house in Chicago to 
give me prices on squabs and they quoted me 
$5.50 per dozen for eight-pounds-or-oyer 
squabs. I also wrote to another commission 
house about the sale of squabs and they sent 
me a price list in which it priced squabs at 
$2.50 and $3 a dozen for choice squabs, and 
as low as $1.50 a dozen. Answer: If you 
were to go into a hat store and offer a man 
$1 for a hat which you happened to see and 
liked, and he should laugh and tell you you 
could not have it for $1 , that the regular price 
was $3, would you be disappointed because 
he would not take your $1 and give you the 
hat ? You are not obliged to sell for $1 a dozen 
just because you are offered that amount. 



326 



APPENDIX G 



NEW YORK CITY SQUAB MARKET 
BOOMING, by William R. McLaughlin. The 

New York City squab market, with which I 
have been intimately connected for many 
years, buying and selling to a trade which I 
know thorough y, is steadily increasing in 
demand, especially in January and the fol- 
lowing eight months, when no game can be 
had. There is no possibility of overdoing the 
production, as the squab business is here to 
stay. There is a good demand all the year 
round for birds running from seven pounds to 
twelve pounds to the dozen, at good paying 
prices, and breeders should place themselves 
right at the start by buying birds enough to 
ship from five to ten dozen squabs at a time. 
In this way they will save considerable on 
express, as the charge on this quantity is a 
trifle more than on one, two or three dozen 
shipments. The very small shipments are 
unsatisfactory to handle as they do not con- 
tain enough birds of any particular size to 
keep a good average scale. 

There is no line of goods I handle which has 
grown so much in the last few years as squabs, 
especially since the squabs have been sold ac- 
cording to grade and size, and I believe they 
will continually crowd to the front. I want 
squabs all the time. 

I know there is nothing around a farm pay- 
ing any better and holding to a more steady 
price all year round, than good squabs from 
seven to nine pounds. 

As regards increase, I will say that in one 
little town in New Jersey where I started a 
few shippers and got them to raise according 
to the scale of selling by weight per dozen, 
when I first started, the business in that 
section was something like $5000 a year and 
has since grown to $25,000 a year, and you 
could not get them to go back to the old way 
for love or money. They have all made 
money and grown from small shippers to large 
ones. 

I DO MY KILLING IN THE EARLY 
MORNING, by B. F. Babcock. I have two 
days in each week for the killing of my 
squabs — Wednesdays for the city markets, 
and Saturdavs for my home orders. At this 
time of vear (Julv) I start in killing at five 
•a.m., and have all squabs killed, plucked and 
delivered by ten a.m. I have two covered 
baskets which I take with me to the lofts 
and the squabs which are to be killed are put 
in them. Then they are taken to where I 
kill and pick them. 

I have a boy who does all the killing and 
helps pick. My wife and myself do the most 
of the picking. As soon as the squabs are 
picked they are thrown into a pail of cold 
water. For my home trade, I leave them 
in the water only until all are picked. Their 
feet and mouths are all cleaned of foul matter, 
then they are delivered to the customers. I 
do all delivering myself. For the city 
market they are left in the water from five to 
six hours, according to what train they are 
to be shipped. 



I have at home a large hotel trade, having 
a standing order of four to six dozen a week. 
Prices range from twenty-five to seventy-five 
cents each according to size and weight, the 
average being about fifty cents each. In 
shipping squabs^ to the city markets I pack all. 
squabs in ice, first putting in a layer of ice, 
then a layer of squabs. I have not. shipped 
ve*T many to the city markets as my home 
trade takes nearly all that I can raise, but 
have always when shipping received the 
highest market prices. _ 

The inexperienced will at first find in using 
the squab killing knife, that they do not stick 
the sqtiabs right and that some v ill live for 
quite a long time, and have to be stuck the 
second time. This has been my experience 
so I tried this plan so as not to let the squabs 
sufler any. 

I made a killing machine, the same as 
described in the National Standard Squab 
Book, pages 114-115, which b:eaks their 
necks and kills them ai once. I then use the 
squab knife and bleed them. As soon as the 
squabs are plucked they are at once placed 
either in a pail or tub of cold water, into 
which some salt has been put. If you use a 
twelve-quart pail put in three to four pinches 
of salt, that is, what you can hold with your 
thumb and fingers. If a tub is used put in 
according to size. This will give the squabs 
the fine white skin desired by the New York 
market, taking out all the dark or red spots. 
It also gives them plumpness. 

I leave them in water from four to five 
hours, which takes out all the animal heat. I 
then clean the feet of all foul matter and wash 
all the blood from their beaks and mouths and 
wrap their heads in white tissue paper. The 
paper costs very little and the trouble will 
more than repay any one. It gives a fine, 
clean appearance when your dealer opens the 
box and your squabs will bring the top 
prices. 

I pack all shipments in ice, putting in a 
layer of ice first, then a layer of squabs, 
keeping this rotation up until the box is filled, 
but being very careful not to get the box too 
full. No breeder will ever be sorry for any 
extra pains he takes with his shipments, as 
it will pay in the long run. 

SOFTENS PEAS IN WATER, by Elmer 
Streckwald. I know a woman breeding 
squabs who softens peas by moistening them 
in water. Her idea is that they will not be 
so hard to digest, especially for the young 
pigeons. I have not tried this myself. Of 
course they should be softened fresh at each 
feeding time, or allowed to soak three or four 
hours before feeding time, for if they were 
allowed to stay damp over night they would 
ferment. This woman also feeds her squabs 
on bread crumbs and she has told me tha* 
she finds the use of a moist mixture an im- 
provement over the dry feeding. This 
spring I sold my squabs to middlemen in 
Boston for $4 and $4.25 a dozen. My plant 
is paying a profit. 



APPENDIX G 



327 



$9 TO $12 A DAY FROM SQUABS AND 
EGGS, by J. E. Ross. In May, 1910 I pur- 
chased thirteen pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers from the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company, and as it is more than a year now 
since I received them, I thought you would 
like to know what they have been doing and 
what I have been doing. 

The birds arrived on a Saturday afternoon, 
and by Friday of the following week twelve 
pairs were sitting on eggs, and they are still 
at it. From the original thirteen pairs I have 
raised one hundred pairs of the finest birds 
that you would want to look at. I have not 
lost any old birds, nor have I had any sickness 
in the flock, nor been troubled with lice. 

Out of the thirteen pairs, nine pairs have 
raised nine pairs of squabs from May, 1910 to 
May, 1911, one pair eight pairs of squabs, and 
three pairs eleven pairs of squabs in the same 
time. My squabs weigh from twelve ounces 
to seventeen ounces at four weeks old, the 
majority of them weighing from fourteen to 
fourteen and one-half ounces each. I sell my 
squabs by the ounce, five cents an ounce, to 
private trade. 

I feed a mixture of Canada peas, red wheat, 
buckwheat, kaffir corn, whole round corn, 
lentils, millet and hempseed. I use the self 
feeder described in Rice's Manual. It costs 
me six cents a month per bird to keep my 
flock. 

I have many visitors who come to see my 
Homers. They all say that they are the finest 
they ever saw. 

I will tell you how I came to start in the 
squab business. About three years ago I met 
with an accident on the railroad where I was 
employed, and it left me in such a condition 
that I was unable to do any work without 
sitting down to rest very often. I found it 
very hard to get work where I could do that, 
and as my small bank account . was getting 
smaller, I had to do something very soon. 
A friend of mine told me of the squab business. 
I read Rice's Manual until I had it off by heart, 
then I sent for the birds. I have never re- 
gretted the day that I spent the thirty dollars 
for the Plymouth Rock Homers. I have sold 
several pairs of breeders for four dollars a. 
pair, and have refused a number of sales at 
that price, for they are worth that much to 
me. 

As I went around in my Long Island town 
selling my squabs, the people would ask me 
for fresh eggs, so I decided to buy eggs and 
sell them with my squabs. When I first 
started with squabs I was not making a cent. 
I am picking up from nine dollars to twelve 
dollars a day now with my squabs and eggs. 
At present I have more orders for squabs 
than I can supply, and my place will not 
accommodate another pen of birds. I am 
looking for a larger place now, and if I can 
get it I am going to put in two more pens of 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, and I am going 
to get them from the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Co., so you can expect to hear from me 
again. 



LOOK OUT FOR SUBSTITUTION. Many 
newspapers from Maine to California have 
poultry and pigeon columns of advertisers 
selling breeding stock. We have noticed, and 
no doubt our customers have, the freedom, 
not to say license, with which " Plymouth 
Rock " Homers and Carneaux are offered in 
such columns. In nearly every city there are 
some irresponsible hand-to-mouth dealers sell- 
ing all breeds of pigeons, and every Homer and 
Carneau they can get hold of is promptly 
labelled or advertised as "Plymouth Rock" 
and sold on the strength of the reputation our 
birds have made. This substitution some- 
times can be worked on a buyer who may be 
afraid to send money by letter. We have 
stopped a good deal of it with the help of 
customers who have called our attention to 
cases in their States. The use of our trade 
mark, unless specifically authorized by license 
from us, is illegal and we will be indebted to 
friends who will point out to us cases of violation 
as they see them. Imitation is the sincerest 
flattery, it is true, and the fact that our pigeons 
are the standard for comparison or for making 
sales, in the different markets and advertising 
mediums, _ is gratifying, but competition of 
that kind is unfair. We give only to customers 
the right to sell their killed squabs as Plymouth 
Rock squabs, no matter where they live, and 
we want no better testimony than is printed 
from month to month to prove that this trade 
mark is worth money on the price of the squabs. 
It is the right kind of an introduction to the 
big squab buyers. Every week letters come 
from somebody who has bought of our " agent " 
and has some disappointment to record. We 
have no agents anywhere. All trading with 
us is done direct with our Melrose farm, or 
Boston office, or it is not Plymouth Rock 
business. 

WHAT TO DO WITH STRAY EGG, by 
W. E. Blakslee. Young birds are liable to lay 
their first eggs anywhere, in a nest, on the 
floor, and sometimes even you will find their 
eggs out in the flying pen. They lay their 
eggs, but many times a pair pays no more 
attention to them. Many seem to think such 
eggs are not fertile, but I find the chance is 
that they are. Save them and put one in 
each new nest of your other birds the day their 
second egg is laid. This is your chance for 
a few extra squabs. What if you do have 
three in a nest? When you match up your 
squabs you may need these extra ones that 
you may get this way. Every squab saved 
counts to the good. 

BIG HOMER INCREASE, by N. A. Huston. 

My stock of six pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Extra Homers was bought in 1907, March 22. 
I have about three hundred birds today, Jan- 
uary 31, 1910. My intention now is to raise 
as many squabs as I can for market. I made 
an outlay of about $250 on my squabhouse 
last spring, raising on three-foot posts, new 
floors, etc. Expect to enlarge in another year 
if nothing happens. 



328 



APPENDIX G 




APPENDIX G 



329 



WE SELL NO SQUABS FOR LESS THAN 
$6 A DOZEN, by Elmer E. Wygant. A few 
months ago I wrote you to the effect that I 
was having some photographs taken of our 
buildings, to show you what we have been able 
to do with the twenty-five pairs of Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers which we bought of 
the Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, in 
April, 1909. 

When the birds arrived, we placed them in 
a box stall, built a small pen on the outside, 
and did not pay any attention to them except 
to water and feed for over three months, 
when we found we had to prepare other pens 
for the young, which were coming very fast. 
In fact, every pair shipped us were all raising 
squabs at this time. They came so fast that 
we have been compelled to put up a building 
which is 128 feet long, eighteen feet wide and 
twelve feet high. At this writing (June 3) 
it is filled with three hundred mated pairs all 
breeding, besides ten pens in the large barn 
with four hundred mated pairs. 

I can see where I made a mistake when 
starting and that was that I should have bought 
about five hundred pairs and saved the time 
we have taken to breed. For since last 
August, when we began to sell squabs, we 
have been compelled to refuse orders owing to 
our wish to breed to one thousand pairs. 

We have made a point not to sell any squabs 
less than $6 a dozen dressed, and guarantee 
every squab to weigh three-quarters of a 
pound, dressed, or no sale. We are careful 
not to kill any birds if under the above weight. 
We have supplied banquets and hotels at the 
above price and in doing so we show a common 
pigeon by the side of a Homer, which settles 
all arguments at once. 

We feed entirely according to the directions 
in Elmer Rice's book and have had no trouble 
in keeping all the birds in fine condition. 
The main point, in our estimation, is to have 
clean coops, fresh water at all times, and see 
that every bird is given enough to eat. If 
these instructions are lived up to at all times, 
there is no reason why anybody should not 
make a success of raising squabs. 

(By Ray E. Brown, Manager.) 

Owing to the fact that Mr. Wygant, the 
proprietor of Etwinoma Farms, is also the 
owner and manager of a large summer resort, 
this time of the season finds him rushed, so 
he has handed me your request for further 
details regarding the way we are getting along 
with the squab business. 

We started small and enlarge as we grow. 
We are at the same time growing a large 
poultry business. 

Make up your mind what variety of pigeons 
you want, how many you want, and remember 
the best is what you want. There are a great 
many varieties suitable for squab raising. 
We prefer the Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, 
which we find come up to all the requirements 
called for by the squab demand. 

Regardless of the variety you start with, it 
is quality you want, not quantity Buy your 
foundation stock from a reliable breeder. 



Tell him what you want and pay his price. 
Don't think the price too high considering 
quality, as he knows the value of the birds 
he is quoting you prices on much better than 
you, and bantering over prices with a reliable 
breeder is only waste of time. Also remember 
that saving money buying cheap stock birds 
is not saving, only wasting. 

This being a large farm covering 300 acres, 
we find valuable use for all the pigeon droppings 
in the orchard. We raise some of our grain, 
which is but a small advantage over those 
who have to buy their entire amount. Our 
main advantage is that our entire lofts and 
farms are connected with running water. 

The successful squab raiser should study 
the National Standard Squab Book, subscribe 
for the Squab Magazine and take advantage 
of some of the many good hints published in 
each and every copy from men who know 
from experience. 

A correspondent in Maryland writes to us 
March 20, 1911: "I have seen some of your 
Plymouth Rock Homers in this neighborhood 
and they are fine birds, so fine indeed that I 
am anxious to get rid of my Carneaux to get 
them instead." That is quite a recommenda- 
tion, is it not? We might add, that the Car- 
neaux which we sell at a higher price than our 
Homers are bigger and better than our Homers. 
Many people buy only by labels and prices; 
in other words if pigeons called Carneaux were 
offered them at one dollar a pair, they would 
buy them, without any thought further. There 
is not much satisfaction in that kind of trade 
either for seller or buyer. 

BOTH HATCH ON SAME DAY, by Leroy 
Wiles. I think it is a good idea for a breeder 
to save all his eggs that do not hatch and 
when a pigeon lays her first egg, take it out 
of the nest and put in one of the infertile ones, 
then when she lays her second egg, take out 
the infertile one and put back her own that 
was taken out the first day she laid. (The 
infertile egg can be told by putting a mark on 
it.) This will keep one squab from hatching 
a day before the other. Then very few squabs 
will get stunted. 

Considering the question of " How best to 
reach the retail trade," would say, although I 
have not tried it out, I believe a good way 
(and one of small cos + ) would be to send post- 
cards, either neatly printed or written, to each 
doctor in the city, stating that if any of his 
patients are in need of squabs, the writer is in 
a position to supply them. — H. A. Knelly, New 
Jersey. 

Charles S. Eby, a Michigan customer, is 
raising squabs from Plymouth Rock Extra 
Homers weighing from one pound to nineteen 
ounces apiece. The smallest squab he ever 
weighed registered fifteen ounces. He has the 
right Homers and he knows how to feed to 
fatten. 



330 



APPENDIX G 




NOW, BUSTER, DON'T MOVE. 

CARNEAUX PRICES. It is a peculiar 
thing about the pigeon trade that whereas 
there are a certain number of purchasers at, 
say, six dollars a pair, the number will treble 
and quadruple at three dollars a pair, with 
no further inducement than the price. This 
is an absurdity and in the old days did more 
to_ drag the pigeon business down than any- 
thing else, for few selling pigeons at cheap 
prices could afford to replace dead birds, odd 



sex, etc. Cheap pigeons are never 
cheap, but in most cases are a total 
loss and a source of the utmost 
vexation from start to finish. In a 
pigeon transaction, the price is a 
very small matter. What you wish 
to know is: Will I get them prompt- 
ly, or wait from three to six months 
while the birds are being bred for 
me? In case there are some dead 
ones in the coop on arrival, will the 
seller promptly make good, or will 
he refuse, putting the blame onto 
the express company, which never 
pays such claims unless the deaths 
have been caused by a wreck? In 
case I am not satisfied with some or 
all of the pigeons, have I any redress? 
Who pays the express, myself or 
the shipper? In case I find some 
youngsters, or more of one sex than 
the other, can I force the seller to 
make good? So, you see, suppose 
you can buy Carneaux at $3 a pair, 
and do not buy character, reputation 
and good service with it, you get 
less than half of what you would 
have secured had you paid $6 a 
pair and received satisfaction. The 
friendship and good will between 
buyer and seller is a very important 
matter in a pigeon sale. If one 
finds he can buy regular ten-cent 
soap for six cents, why one would 
of course pay six cents. Soap is not 
alive and does not breed. It can 
be transported without risk. It is 
not likely that you would ask for 
a refund of the money. But there 
is some risk in buying pigeons and 
it is to your advantage to trade 
with a firm which will take the risk, 
and not compel you. 



I can talk Homers all day. I owe 
a great deal of my success to the 
National Squab Magazine. I start- 
ed three years ago with thirty-six 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers. I 
have now nineteen units on Mr. 
Rice's plan, and have between 1200 
and 1500 birds. In June I shipped 
434 squabs to a northern market, 

\ first week in July 115. We have 

| no local market in summer, this 

being a winter resort. My best 
prices are obtained in the winter. 
I sold in two and a half months 
eight hundred squabs at six dollars 

per dozen. — W. C. Hyer, South Carolina. 

Your Manual, the National Standard Squab 
Book, is the best and most thorough publica- 
tion on pigeons and squabs ever published. I 
am more than pleased with it. I shall send on 
an order early this spring, possibly earlier, 
and if your birds are like your book, there 
shall certainly be another order. — W. C. Val- 
entine, Illinois. 



APPENDIX G 



331 



HOW I NET $4000 A YEAR 
WITH SQUABS, by Oscar 
Maerzke. 1 have been in the 
squab business thirteen years. 
I have a mixed flock containing 
both common pigeons and 
Homers. The squabs from the 
Homers are larger and bring 
more money, and the Homers 
breed better than the com- 
mons. I make $4000 a year 
profit. I always have run the 
business alone, up to last year, 
when I took a partner, Charles 
Lutovsky. In the county where 
we live (Wisconsin) many of 
the farmers breed common 
pigeons. We have an automo- 
bile with a rack on back to 
hold pigeon crates. My part- 
ner goes out daily in this 
automobile, to gather up the 
squabs from the farmers, cover- 
ing regular routes. He brings 
them home alive and I kill 
and pluck them and ship them 
along with the squabs we raise. 
We have shipped squabs as 
far East as New York. Just 
now we are shipping to Chicago, 
about 150 miles distant. We 
use any kind of a second-hand 
box, provided it is clean and 
fairly tight, for shipping, put- 
ting a layer of ice on top of the 
squabs and nailing the box up tight 
empties are not returned to us. 

My home is half a mile down the street from 
the squab plant. I have built one residence 
from squab profits and am now building 
another alongside my present home. 

It costs us $3500 a year to feed our birds, 
or a little less than $1 a year a pair. An im- 
portant part of the daily ration is a wild seed 
mixture, bought cheaply. We get it from 
a brewery. It is what is left after cleaning 
barley for malt. The brewery, having no 
further use for this refuse, sells it cheap. It 
is perfectly clean, dry, sweet and good, how- 
ever. The pigeons are very fond of it and it 
does them good. Of course, when they are 
eating it they are not eating the more expensive 
wheat and corn. The mixture contains the 
small black kernels of wild buckwheat, also 
cockle seed, flaxseed, the seed of pigeon grass, 
and some barley. We store it in bins and it 
does not have much of a tendency to heat or 
spoil. 

The squabs from our common pigeons and 
the common squabs bought from the farmers 
weigh about seven pounds to the dozen. 
They are smaller, do not look so good and 
do not bring so much in the market as the 
Homer squabs. The squabs from our Homers 
weigh eight or nine pounds to the dozen and 
we have some ten-pound Homer squabs. 
When I started in the business a squab was 
a squab, no matter what size, and brought 
a flat price, but now, on account of the enor- 




MAERZKE'S S4000-A-YEAR PROFIT SQUAB PLANT. 



The 



mous number of superior, large-size Homers 
which Elmer Rice has imported from Belgium 
and sold in this country, the small-size native 
American Homers and the common pigeons 
have been overshadowed in the markets. 
Squabs are now graded by weight when sold, 
and the more they weigh to the dozen, the 
more they bring. I have always sold to 
commission men and dealers in the large 
cities. 

We have no heat in our houses. In the 
winter the temperature goes as low as twenty 
degrees below zero. The squab production 
falls off some in winter and we lose a few 
squabs and eggs by freezing, but this is trifling 
compared to the cost of installing and running 
a heating apparatus, which is out of the ques- 
tion with our houses built and located as they 
are. We have so many pigeons in each of 
our three flocks (and a fourth flock of one 
thousand pairs to be soon added) that the 
houses are kept quite comfortable by the heat 
given off by the birds. 

Mrs. W. R. Lycan, a customer in far off 
Oregon, writes us March 31, 1911: " I bought 
three pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers just 
one year ago and have raised over seventy, 
lost very few. One pair has raised nine pairs 
and is setting again. This notwithstanding 
the fact that we have moved during this time 
and had them in a coop for several days, and 
have never had a flying pen; just have them 
in an open-front chicken house. How's that? " 



332 



APPENDIX G 



HOW A MAN OF 75 MAKES $25 WEEKLY, 
by John D. Ludwig. I am making $100 a 
month net profit squab breeding with 1400 
mated pigeons, mostly Homers. I am seventy- 
five years old. In front of my house I have 
a sign: "One squab contains two to five 
ounces of liquor protoplasm. This is the 
liquor of life, without which nothing can live. 
Thirty good squabs haye more protoplasm than 
a beef weighing eight hundred pounds." I live 
on the Southern Pacific railroad line, and thou- 
sands of people read the sign. 

At the present time (March) I receive $3.75 
a dozen for Homer squabs, and $4.50 a dozen 
for my larger squabs, net. Last year I sold 
8199 squabs. My customers call at the 
aviary for my squabs. I put from twenty- 
four to forty squabs in a box alive and the 
expressman calls for the boxes. My market 
is Oakland and San Francisco. I cannot raise 
the number of squabs that are called for. 
My squabs are always plump and fat, and 
weigh from twelve to eighteen ounces each. 

The boxes I ship the squabs in are the size 
of Swift turkey boxes and have a partition 
in the center. I place eighteen or twenty 
squabs in each compartment. The boxes are 
returned to me and the poultrymen pay the 
express both ways, on the squabs and empties. 
They are paying as high as $5 a dozen in San 
Francisco, one year contract. 

Is it hard work to take care of 1400 pigeons, 
they ask me. I have two boys, George, the 
older, thirteen years old; Edwin, the younger, 
nine years. In vacation they did all the work 
around the aviary. Gathered all the squabs 
for market. Removed the dirty nests. Cleaned 
them. Dipped them into the whitewash 
barrel. Set them aside ready for future use. 
Placed clean boxes for the dirty ones taken out. 
Raked out the houses and lofts. Shoveled 
the manure in the wagon and delivered it to 
the florist. Mixed the feed and placed it in 
the hoppers. Gathered and handled eucalyptus 
leaves to refill nestboxes. They ran the place 
in fine order. (The boys did that during_ then- 
vacation from school. I was on a trip to 
Sonoma county.) At present they go to 
school. After schocl hours they are on hand 
and we do the work. Both love pigeons 
and are pleased to be with them. 

Boys certainly can make money raising 
squabs for market. They must learn all about 
pigeons. Must attend to business or they 
will lose the cash they invest. Start with only 
a few pairs. 

Does it pay to raise squabs? Yes, it does. 
I am making money. But like any other busi- 
ness you must learn the details. Learn the 
habits of pigeons and how to take care of them. 

I write you these few lines to let you know 
that we are still in the business, and I will tell 
you of our success after a year and a half. 
We wish to enlarge. We have now working 
about 135 pairs of the old original birds, of 
which seventy-five pairs were secured from 
your company, and the balance elsewhere, but 
like most new beginners we of course got a 



few of those so-called Homers, and that meant 
we were stung, but the seventy-five pairs that 
we got from you are certainly fine workers and 
are going great for us. Out of the last year we 
have saved something like one hundred pairs 
of young birds out of those we bought from you 
so now we have about 240 pairs turning out 
squabs for us, and we are shipping on an aver- 
age of four dozen squabs a week and also are 
supplying some few small breeders around here. 
Besides the Homers we have thirty-eight pairs 
of Carneaux working but have not put any of 
their young on the market yet. We are proud 
of our success, which we lay to the birds bought 
from you. We want to add another sixty- 
foot building to our present holdings and to 
secure about three hundred pairs Plymouth 
Rock Homers from you. You have the only 
pigeons that we care to handle. We ship our 
squabs to Heineman Brothers in New York. — 
E. J. Quigley, West Virginia. 

ONE YEAR'S RECORD, by Emil Oetteking. 

I kept a record of the feed consumed by eight 
pairs of Homers in the year from January 1 , to 
December 31, 1910, with the following result: 
Whole corn, 177 lbs, at $1.55 per 100 lbs.— $2.63 
Red wheat, 168 lbs. at 2.40 per 1001bs.— 4.03 
Kaffir corn, 122 lbs. at 2.30 per 1001bs.— 2.81 
Buckwheat, 51 lbs. at 2.25 per 100 lbs. — 1.15 
Peas, 158 lbs. at 3.80 per 100 lbs. — 6.00 

Hemp seed, 9 lbs. at 6.00 per 100 lbs.— 0.54 

Total, 678 lbs. $17.16 

I killed 129 squabs in twelve months from 
the eight pairs of pigeons. This is at the rate 
of sixteen and one half squabs per pair, or 
eight and one-quarter pairs of squabs to each 
pair of parent breeders. 

I suppose you are always ready to read of a 
customer of yours that has made a success with 
pigeons, so I am writing to give you that 
information. I started my flock two years 
ago with three pairs of your Plymouth Rock 
Carneaux and now (March 26, 1911), am the 
proud owner of nearly two hundred pairs of as 
fine birds as there are in the country. I have 
sold squabs, youngsters and mated pairs, and 
at no time have I had any trouble in disposing 
of them. The breeders are always of good 
color, good size, and as for breeding qualities, 
they are hummers. I want to thank you again 
for starting me right. Still have my original 
pairs (three), which are as busy as ever. — Cadet 
H. Hand, New York. 

Two weeks ago I killed and shipped my first 
squabs. I never killed and plucked a squab 
or fowl of any kind so you can imagine the task 
I had on hand. I had eleven squabs. For the 
best I received seventy-four cents a pair clear, 
or eighty-three cents gross; for the smallest 
forty-four cents a pair clear or fifty-five cents 
gross, an average of $4.20 a dozen gross, or 
$3.70 after packing and shipping expenses were 
deducted. How is that for a ' ' greenie ' ' in the 
business — good, bad or indifferent? — Park F. 
Esbenshade, Pennsylvania. 



APPENDIX G 



333 



HOW AN IOWA FAMILY 
MAKES SQUABS PAY, by R. 
L. Allen. I am very much in- 
terested in the pigeon business. 
I believeitisonlyin its infancy 
and that better times are com- 
ing. I send you a picture of 
our unit house which, as you 
see, has eight separate apart- 
ments. We have three other 
houses not shown in this pic- 
ture. These apartments are 
each eight by ten feet. They 
are eight feet high on the high 
side and six feet high on the 
low side. The fly yards are 
ten by sixteen feet, eight feet 
high. 

Each of these apartments 
has an average of one hundred 
and twenty-two nests, and an 
average of one hundred and 
twelve mated, working pigeons. 
We find it better to have more 
nests than birds. 

The girl in the picture is Lila 
Allen, sixteen years old, another 
member of the firm, who has 
charge of the feed supplies. 
Once every day she goes all 
through the plant and refills 
the automatic feeders that are 
in need of grain. In these 
feeders there are compartments 
to accommodate two kinds of grain. We 
also have a little contrivance of our own in- 
vention to keep salt and grit always before 
them. We are not prepared at this time to 
furnish the pictures of Mrs. Allen, who is 
bookkeeper and secretary, or of Mr. R. L. 
Allen, general manager. In this pigeon plant, 
each member of the family and firm has his 
or her work to do, and each receives a share 
in the receipts. We have one thousand 
breeding pigeons. 

I find in traveling about over the country 
that where there is a bunch of pigeons that the 
owner is " sick of " and complaining because 
there is no money in them, the house is in 
bad condition, feed and water supply is poor, 
and the pigeons are not evenly proportioned 
in regard to sex. Under such conditions good 
results are out of the question. The owner 
is trying to sell them cheap, and if he gets a 
buyer, unless the latter is a good judge and 
understands how to cull them closely, he 
too finds out a little later that there is no 
money in the pigeon business. Then the poor 
pigeons get the blame for it all. 

HOW THEY BREED IN ONTARIO, by 
W. Ernest Williams. In March last I pur- 
chased three pairs of Plymouth Rock Extra 
Homers and to date (October 27) I have twelve 
pairs of youngsters that have been spared for 
breeders. In March all three pairs had eggs 
within two weeks of being in their new home. 
In my pen I have up to the present twelve 
pairs of youngsters that are flying about, and 




VIEWS ON THE ALLEN SQUAB FARM. 



have killed two pairs for eating. One pair 
fell out of its nest or was pushed out and killed 
when only two weeks old. Now I have one 
pair about four days old and two pairs on eggs. 
Mr. Baker and Mr. Burgess will no doubt 
want to buy my birds after seeing this, but 
not for $5 a pair if I know it. Just look: 
sixteen pairs and two pairs of eggs. This 
is a straight fact and no fairy tale, I can assure 
you. 

I have been getting three dollars per dozen 
for my squabs. At one of the Chicago markets 
I asked the man what he would pay me for what 
he called fancy Homer squabs. He said they 
were too high for his market, and that the 
hotels and big restaurants paid six and seven 
dollars a dozen for them dressed, done up in 
one-half dozen lots, and they had to weigh 
just so much. I also spoke to a party that 
used to be in a meat market where squabs were 
handled, and he told me they paid around 
forty cents apiece for squabs and sold them as 
high as seventy-five cents apiece. — Henry 
Huecker, Illinois. 

I ordered three pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers six months ago. I had other Homers 
in my house but in the scramble for nestboxes, 
the new ones were easy winners, they were so 
much bigger and stronger. I am raising some 
big squabs from them. The largest I had 
were a pair of red checks, one weighing twenty 
ounces and the other twenty-two ounces. — 
Walter Sieverling, Ohio. 



334 



APPENDIX G 



SQUAB MONEY KEPT THIS BOY IN 
SCHOOL, by Elmer Krider. I am a boy of 

seventeen and live with my grandparents in 
California. Both my mother and father are 
dead, so you see I had to find some way of 
making money without having to quit school. 
While reading a paper one day I saw the 
Plymouth Rock advertisement and sent for 
a free book, then bought the complete pigeon 
guide, which I found was the same as haying 
an expert squab raiser with you all the time. 
By studying this Manual I got a clear view 
of the squab industry, purchased twelve pairs 
of Homers in September, 1907, and up to this 
writing (September 27, 1909) have three 
hundred and sixty, including one hundred 
mated pairs. I ship the squabs at the rate 
of about seven dozen every month to San 
Francisco, where I get never less than thirty- 
five cents each. 

Boys who were my best friends wanted me 
to go out in the fields and work with them for 
$25 a month. I told them I would not quit 
school to go out in the hot sun and work for 
$25 a month. Then here is where they began 
to tease me about the pigeons and that I 
would not make a cent out of them. So, 
what happened is, that I have kept on with 
my school, making a clear profit of $20 a month 
with little work. 

This just shows what a great chance the 
pigeon industry offers. There is one man 
here who came from Minnesota to raise squabs 
and on arrival took the ginseng fever and 
began raising it. Now he is beginning to see 
his mistake in not sticking to squabs. 

SQUABS SELLING IN BOSTON $7 A 
DOZEN, by Elmer C. Rice. Just one year ago 
this month I wrote an article telling how 
squabs were selling in Boston at seven dollars 
a dozen, the highest known up to that time. 
This year (1911) squabs are just as high, and 
appear to be scarcer. 

In the Boston Globe for January 27, 1911, 
squabs were quoted at $5.00 to $7.00 a dozen. 
In the Globe for January 20, $5.50 and $6.00 
a dozen. For January 13, $5.00 and $6.00 
a dozen. For January 6, $5.00 and $6.50 a 
dozen. For December 30, $5.00 and $6.00. 

The Globe prints the squab quotations in a 
special market article every Friday afternoon 
throughout the year, along with quotations 
on meats, butter, cheese, eggs, fruits, vege- 
tables, fish. 

When squabs weighing eight pounds to the 
dozen sell for $6.00 a dozen, this means that 
the buyer pays seventy-five cents a pound; 
ten pounds to the dozen at $7 a dozen, seventy 
cents a pound; twelve pounds to the dozen at 
$7.00 a dozen, sixty-seven cents a pound. 
This is double the prices at which chickens 
sell, pound for pound, and indicates how 
profitable it is to breed squabs. 

MY SQUAB PLANT PAYING 22 1-2 
PER CENT PROFIT, by H. C. Longcoy. For 

any one entering any business, the nrst ques- 
tion coming to mind is: How have others 



succeeded? So a few figures of actual facts 
are here submitted. I have been raising 
squabs in Ohio for five years and have made 
big money for the time spent on them. I get 
all my grain, grit, etc., at wholesale. I sell 
through a retail store. They give me $3.50 a 
dozen, flat rate, the year round. I have 
fifteen pens of breeders at present, but, for 
example, we will take one pen of twenty-one 
pairs of large crosses with actual figures. 
These birds have done no better than the 
others: 

Grain for 365 days $30.57 

Cost of house (pro rated) $1.57 per pair or 32.97 
Value of birds, 21 pairs at $4 84.00 

Interest on $84 plus $32.97 (investment) 7.01 
Depreciation on investment 10% 11.69 

Actual outlay $30.57 plus $7.01 plus $11.69, 
total $49.27. 
Twenty-one pairs produced 246 squabs 

during the year at $3.50 per dozen $71.75 
Droppings sold 3.90 

Income $75.65 

$75.65 minus $49.27 equals $26.38 profit, or 
$1.25 1-2 per pair. 

Very few business propositions pay 22 1-2% 
net; so I say a squab plant well taken care of 
is the best money maker I know today. 

POISONED PEAS, by C. W. Blanding. I 

found it extremely hard to procure Canada 
peas, and to take their place I bought some 
peas of a dealer which he recommended as 
pigeon peas. In less than two weeks my birds 
were all dead with the exception of a few pairs. 
A careful examination proved that the peas 
had been doped to prevent the worms from 
bothering them, as they are very poor sellers. 
You can bet now that I know what my feed 
is when I buy it. 

Question: No two accounts agree as to the 
average yearly increase from working pairs of 
pigeons, and I am at sea as to what I might 
reasonably expect from say fifty pairs in one 
year under favorable circumstances. Answer: 
Accounts differ with regard to the average 
yearly increase of a flock of birds, because the 
ability of each breeder varies. It depends 
mostly on yourself what you will do with a 
flock of pigeons. If you are skilful you will 
get the maximum results. If you are not 
skilful you will get the minimum results. If 
you have average ability you will get average 
results. It is impossible for. anybody to pre- 
dict what you will do at squab raising. 

A buyer appreciates that prices mean very 
little when he puts $20 into a lot of pigeons, 
obtains twice the number obtainable for the 
same money elsewhere, but finds on getting the 
birds from the express company that perhaos 
one-third of them are desirable, and he can get 
no relief, frequently not even an answer to 
letters. It is our belief that the customer is the 
best judge of what is shipped him, that the 
pigeons themselves talk more convincingly than 
printed matter or letters. 



APPENDIX G 



335 



RAISING SQUABS BY 
HAND, by E. Guenther, M.D. 

My squabhouse recently fin- 
ished is* fourteen by twenty 
feet and cost $150. I put tin 
pans on top of the posts under 
the sills to keep rats and mice 
from working up. On October 
2, I took out thirteen squabs 
(Homers) which weighed four- 
teen pounds. During the sum- 
mer I lost a pair of Homers 
which had hatched out a pair 
of young Carneaux. The young 
birds were thirteen days old 
when the old ones flew away. 
They were yellow Carneaux 
and I was very anxious to raise 
them, so I got my boy Harold 
to look after them. One of the 
pictures shows Harold feeding 
one of them by mouth, which 
was the way they were first 
nourished. When they were 
older they were fed with a 
spoon. They are now in the 
rearing coop and doing well. 
The other picture shows Harold 
and my girl Blanche feeding a young Carneau 
with a spoon. 

SIX DOLLARS A DOZEN, by George N. 
Childs. I am having good luck with my 
Homers. I have quite a few calls for squabs. 
I can get six dollars a dozen for them. I follow 
Rice's Manual to the letter and find it to be 
just the right thing. I would not take $25 for 
it if I could not get another copy. I sell my 
squabs to private families. They made the 
price themselves and are willing to pay six 
dollars a dozen. This Pennsylvania town is 
very rich and I can sell all the squabs I can 
turn out. I cannot say enough or too much 
for the squab business or my birds. There 
was a man here this morning from a New 
York town and he said he had been to see a 
squab plant there which had seven hundred 
birds, but had not any to come up to mine. I 
am going to have a picture taken of my place 
and will send you one. 

FLYING PEN ON EAST SIDE OF BUILD- 
ING, by M. C. Martin. For warm climates, 
I think the flying pen should face the east 
instead of the south. In the summer when it 
is so intensely hot, if the pen faces the south, 
the sun shines on the flying pen all day long, 
and except in the early morning and late in the 
evening the birds must stay in the squabhouse 
to escape the sun. If the pen faces the east, 
shortly after noon there is shade in the flying 
pen, and all the birds off of eggs will be found 
njoying the shade, and very few suffer during 
the hot season. In the winter the flying pen 
should have a windbreak on the north side, 
then remove this in the spring again. 

My pian for perches in the flying pen is to 
have six-inch boards all around the sides of the 
pen. One may have two or three tiers of 




RAISING SQUABS BY HAND. 

boards on a side if needed. This leaves more 
flying space in the pen than the ladder system. 

Question: I have a good-sized flock of 
Homers which have been working fine, but 
recently I bought two pairs of Carneaux. 
One pair worked all right, but the other pair 
although they are mated do not work properly, 
so I have come to the conclusion that the 
Carneaux are not so good as the Homers and 
I think I will stick to the Homers. Answer: 
It has been my experience that a party will 
buy, say ten pairs of Homers and be well 
satisfied if eight or nine pairs go to work soon. 
On account of the expense of Carneaux, they 
may buy only two pairs. They expect both 
pairs to be perfect breeders under the change 
of circumstances, although they do not expect 
an absolutely perfect percentage with their 
Homers. It is a well-known law stated by all 
competent observers, that some pigeons will 
breed properly only when at their old home 
or with their old partners. It is also true that 
birds which breed properly in one pen may 
not do so if sold and shipped away to a new 
pen. Therefore, in every flock there may be 
some pigeons coming under these exceptions. 
Such birds should be mated up with new birds, 
or later on with birds of your own raising. 
It is impossible to do much breeding with 
Carneaux, or with any pigeons, unless you 
have from three pairs to twelve pairs, so as to 
have some material with which to work. 
Anybody who buys one pair of birds and figures 
on perfect results is taking a chance. 

From the Extra Plymouth Rock Homers 
that I bought and received May first this year, I 
have one hundred pairs, some of which are 
beginning to mate; will have a big bunch 
mated up by spring.— A. E. Perkins, Iowa. 



336 



APPENDIX G 



TELEPHONE SQUAB SALES $6-$9 A 
DOZEN, by R. E. Sons. Having read all the 
books relating to pigeons and carefully thought 
over the matter, I decided to try as an experi- 
ment forty-eight pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Homers and to see for myself if I had any 
demand for squabs. When they arrived I 
was well pleased with their looks and was better 
pleased when I saw them getting busy ten 
days after their arrival. Then when my first 
squabs hatched I commenced to look for ways 
and means to sell. 

The markets were selling them at forty 
cents each so I decided to try fifty cents each. 
I inserted a small advertisement in the local 
paper but could trace no business there. I 
then wrote several prominent people and 
received two answers, each with orders too 
large for me to fill. I then started in to call 
the wealthy ladies by telephone, asking them 
if they would like some fresh killed squabs, 
as I had so many for sale, and by this means 
I sold my first birds. This I continued, 
always calling new people, and when I de- 
livered my squabs I always placed my card 
on the package and requested the cook to 
keep the card in a conspicuous place, and 
when she wanted fresh killed squabs to call 
me by telephone. 

Soon orders were coming in far beyond my 
supply. I then ordered fifty pairs more Homer 
breeders from the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company. As soon as they were working 
and I was able to market their squabs I found 
I could not meet the demand. I ordered 
again fifty pairs more, but even then I could 
only meet about half the orders. 

My plant has always been open to inspec- 
tion and I tamed my first pen so that they 
would come and eat hempseed out of the hand. 
This was a great success for many wealthy 
people stopped to see how squabs were raised 
and I found I sold quite a lot simply because 
they would eat out of the hand. These I 
sold for pet squabs. I weaned them when they 
were four weeks old and received from nine 
to twelve dollars a dozen. I refused all offers 
for the old birds. 

Some of the wealthy people thought that 
fifty cents was too high as the markets had 
by this time cut their prices to thirty and 
thirty-five cents each, but I explained how I 
plucked and chilled the birds, which were only 
killed upon order, and that if they would try 
a small order, they would be convinced. 
Some would place an order for one and two 
and in nine cases out of ten they would try to 
get my squabs, and if I was sold out then go 
to the market. 

All this summer I have received fifty cents 
each for killed squabs four weeks old, seventy 
five cents for live squabs five weeks old and 
one dollar for six weeks old, weaned and trained 
to eat and care for themselves. I have not 
at any time had any squabs ready to kill that 
I have not had an order on my books to fill. 
In fact, I have not had a chance to eat one 
myself. I have four more units about half 
completed which I will fill with Homers as 



I believe they turn out squabs that are just 
right for the home market. 

For canker, I put three drops of squab-fe-nd; 
in one-half a glass of water for a wash, using 
a small swab. I then powder the throat 
with half Venetian red and half burnt alum, 
and find that this mixture works quickly, 
effecting the desired cure. 

Here is a record to date (March, 1910) of 
the three pairs of Extra Homers bought of 
you last March, 1909. It is a record you can 
be proud of. I will swear that it is correct, 
as I have them banded and keep a book to 
record them. Pair No. 1 hatched April 1 
(1909) 2 squabs; May 12, 2; June 18, 2; July 
21, 2; August 24, 1; September, none; October 

4, 2; November 14, 2; January 8 (1910), 1; 
February 20, 2. Total, 16 squabs in 10 
months. At present date (March 20) building 
another nest. Pair No. 2 hatched April 5 
(1909), 1 squab; May 18, 2; June 24, 1; July 
28, 2; August, none; September 1, 1; October 

5, 2; November, none; December 1, 2; January 
26 (1910), 1 ; March 8, 2. Total 14 squabs in 
10 months. At present (March 20), sitting 
on two eggs. Pair No. 3 hatched April 15 
(1909), 2 squabs; May 27, 2; June, none; July 
15, 2; August 28, 2; September, none; October 
11, 2; November, none; December 11, 2; 
January (1910), none; February 6, 2. Total, 
14 squabs in 10 months. From these three 
pairs I have now twelve working pairs of birds 
that I have yet to see the equal of in California. 
I hope this record may be of some use to you, 
and it will be if you are as proud of it as I am. 
I never had raised a pigeon in my life until I 
received your birds. You gave me a fair 
and square deal both on my Extra Homers 
and Carneaux. I follow your Manual from A 
to Z. The results speak for themselves. — 
Fred M. Parkison, California. 

I have adopted a way for holding my nest 
material which you can print if you wish. On 
the wire partitions between units, at the bot- 
toms I put a thirty-inch width of the wire, 
fasten this at bottom and ends, fill from the 
top with stems, straw, etc. This makes a 
clean pocket for keeping the nest material in 
the pens, and it also makes a good break from 
wind caused by the flying of the birds. Don't 
cut wire to make this. Use a regular made 
width, then you have the edges in shape. — 
W. E. Blakslee, New York. 

I am very proud of my flock of Plymouth 
Rock Homers. From the twenty-four pairs I 
bought a year ago, I now have two hundred 
and eighty-eight birds, all beauties. My 
neighbors and every one who sees them say 
they are lovely. — Mary R. Forbes, New York. 

I have four hundred working Homers. 
They are producing seven pairs of large squabs 
to each pair of breeders a year. Half of these 
breeders are too young to do their best. I 
hope to enlarge my plant in the near future. — ■ 
D. D. Powell, California. 



APPENDIX G 



337 



HOW TO JUDGE WHEAT FOR SQUAB 
RAISING. I have found, in travelling over 
all parts of the country, that there is a great 
difference in wheat. It is divided into the two 
general classes of red wheat and white wheat. 
There is also winter wheat, which is planted in 
late summer in time for it to send up its blades 
or leaves, then remains like this over winter 
and starts to grow again with the first opening 
of spring, thus having a long or full season to 
mature or ripen in. Spring wheat is wheat 
planted in the spring, thus having but a short 
season to mature and ripen, for the farmer has 
to wait until the ground is sufficiently thawed 
and dried out to work it. 

The very best staple feed for pigeons every- 
where on this continent is the first or best 
quality of the red, winter wheat — the same 
as is used for making the best quality of flour. 
Necessarily, this is the most expensive wheat 
in cost, but the cheapest feed, all things con- 
sidered, for squab raising. In appearance, it 
is copper-colored, well filled out or smooth on 
the surface, not puckered or wrinkled, clear 
colored, almost transparent like a small chip or 
a fine specimen of brown flint, not cloudy. It 
should be well seasoned, dry and hard to bite. 
This kind of wheat is not offered for sale on the 
general market and it takes a fairly skilful 
buyer to procure it. It can seldom or never be 
bought by the bag except direct from the 
farmer or possibly from the flour mills, and the 
flour mills would only let you have the poorest 
of this grade. . 

Next to this, in desirability for pigeons, is the 
number one, red, winter wheat often sold by 
grain dealers. Then comes the number two, 
red, winter wheat which may have considerable 
wild seeds and some chaff mixed with it and it 
may be somewhat shrivelled or wrinkled. This 
last is not objectionable for squab raising if 
the kernels are clear, transparent-like and hard. 
But if the majority of the kernels are cloudy 
and especially if they are soft or easy to bite, 
I would never buy it. In some sections, the 
screenings of this red, winter wheat can be had 
cheaply and it is not objectionable if the 
kernels are clear and hard, as stated above. 

The next on the list is red, spring wheat. 
Though not so good as the winter wheat, it is 
all right to use, provided the kernels are clear 
and hard. It hasn't as much nourishment for 
pigeons and is more likely to be soft or im- 
mature and hence cloudy. Any genuine, red 
wheat, although cloudy, may be fed to pigeons 
without serious harm, but it will not produce 
the results you are looking for with the squabs, 
neither in quality nor number. If this last 
kind has to be used more peas and hempseed 
should be given. 

White wheat may be fed for squab breeding, 
if handled with judgment, in any part of the 
country , if it is impossible to get the red wheat. 

Wheat of any kind, which has been ' ' heated ' ' 
and has the slightest musty smell, or has the 
slightest amount of bluish mould or dust on it, 
must not be fed to pigeons. It is much easier 
to find good wheat and to detect it if it has 
been spoiled than it is to judge cracked corn. 



BEST WAY TO FEED SALT, by Edward G. 
Rice. I have heard many people say that 
coarse ground salt is all right for pigeons. In 
my experience it is not. The pigeons when 
eating will sometimes get too much and it will 
kill them. I used it for a while, but of course 
when it began to kill my pigeons I stopped it. 
It is best to put a lump of rock salt in a box of 
grit or gravel and wet it thoroughly every day. 
The pigeons will eat this grit or gravel after it 
has been flavored by the salt and you will find 
that it keeps them very healthy. It is almost 
as necessary for pigeons to have salt as it is 
for them to have feed and water; that is, if 
you expect them to keep in good condition and 
work. 

TEN CENTS A PAIR A MONTH, WEST 
VIRGINIA, by J. L. Wallace. I have kept a 
record of the feed, and find that my Homers 
cost me ten cents a pair a month, or $1.20 a 
year. I have now moved into my new home 
and want to make arrangements to get my 
squab plant fitted up as soon as possible. I 
work in the bank from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., 
which gives me ample time to look after a good- 
sized flock. 

I wish to join the National Squab Breeders' 
Association. Please enter my name, also that 
of Fred Le Blond, Jr. Send two buttons. 
The Homers that I bought of the Plymouth 
Rock Squab Company are the handsomest and 
best birds that I have. I sold off every one of 
the old ones and now have my loft full of the 
offspring. They are certainly fine birds. The 
squabs weigh from nine to twelve pounds a 
dozen. I have turned the entire financial 
part of the business over to my boy, who is 
ten years old, and even if it does cost me money 
each month, I am perfectly satisfied to pay it 
for the splendid training it is giving him. He 
keeps an accurate account of all money, pays 
himself a salary, and just about breaks even. 
I consider training a young boy along these 
lines to be invaluable, as it gives him a fair 
insight into business methods, and not only in 
handling the business itself, but in teaching 
him the importance of watching details so as to 
insure success. — F. E. Le Blond, Ohio. 

I sent you in a couple of orders a few days 
ago and from time to time you will hear from 
me, as my birds are giving you some fine adver- 
tising in these parts. Of course you know as 
I do that it is the man behind the gun and I 
tell these people that when the birds arrive, 
they will be all right and just like mine, but 
it is up to them to get the same results that I 
do. My short experience with your firm has 
convinced me that you have the stock all right 
and that you are responsible in every respect. 
— A. Perm Krumbhaar, Louisiana. 

I began my plant with four pairs of Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers in April, 1910, and I 
now (April, 1911) have over ninety strong, 
healthy birds including twenty-six mated 
couples. — Ethel M. Watson, California. 



338 



APPENDIX G 




APPENDIX G 



339 



SQUAB SUPPLY FALLS SHORT OF 
DEMAND,* by Burton T. Beach. Epicures are 
coming to think that squab on toast is as 
appetizing as quail on toast, provided the bird 
is bred scientifically, killed at the right moment 
and properly kept in the larder. 

Squab meat is one of the few forms of food 
the supply of which falls absolutely short of the 
demand in the United States. Scores of ban- 
quets given last winter in New York, Chicago, 
Philadelphia and Boston were arranged with- 
out squabs in the menus for the sole reason that 
it was not possible to get enough to go around. 

"My chef," said the proprietor of the famous 
Manhattan hotel, "tried to gather eight hun- 
dred squabs for a dinner in February. The 
committee insisted that we get them. After 
searching the markets and squab farms and 
cold storage houses all we could find was five 
hundred, and we had to cut out squabs. Very 
likely there will be a similar shortage next 
winter. And it will be a genuine shortage, not 
an artificial one." 

The first solid food given to Mayor Gaynor 
after the shooting was squab. Medical men 
are more and more inclined to prescribe squab 
in the dietary of invalids, especially children. 
One of the most nourishing fluids is the juice 
of the squab killed when about able to leave 
its nest voluntarily. 

Six years ago the business had a boom, but 
the boom soon collapsed. In 1907 there was a 
vigorous revival: improvement has been con- 
tinuous. 

On Long Island, near New York, the Misses 
Bohannan, after five years of unremitting 
attention, have built up an excellently organized 
plant, with improved modern appliances, and 
are exploiting a flock of four thousand birds, 
soon to be enlarged by half as many more. 

One who never had met them save at a social 
function in Manhattan or in their parlor at 
Knollside Farm would not suspect that they 
knew any more about pigeons tnan could be 
learned from books or an inspection of rare 
columbidse at the zoological gardens or a visit 
to the Basilica of St. Mark's, in Venice, where 
the pigeons are a whirling wonder. 

Confronted suddenly with the necessity of 
making parental capital yield at least four 
times what it would yield if deposited in savings 
banks or invested in securities, they decided 
to try squab farming as likely to bring a better 
return than the New York market for poultry. 
While there are plants larger than theirs de- 
voted to raising " breeding birds," these young 
women have the satisfaction of owning one 
of the largest devoted exclusively to raising 
squabs for food. 

Question: I have my nest boxes numbered 
and know what each pair does. In the even- 
ing I transfer the records to a book, and thus 
know from week to week where I stand. I 
give the birds quite a lot of bookkeeping. 
Answer: It is easy to do too much record 
keeping. The record should be kept either 
on the nestboxes or at the back of each pen, 
and in a card index kept handy in the squab- 
copyright, 1910, by the New York Herald Co. All 



house. Do not make memoranda which later 
you have to transfer. Write it only once, for 
keeps. Do the record-keeping in the squab- 
house, otherwise one is liable to spend as much 
time over his records as over his pigeons, 
which is a poor use of time. Evening work, 
if any is done, should be devoted to writing 
letters and postal cards, advertising matters, 
etc., pushing sales. The marketing is quite 
as important as the raising, that is, intelligent 
marketing which gives the breeder a fair share 
of the money which the consumer pays. 

A BIG SQUAB SHIPPER, by E. L. Kauff- 
man. Please send me the Association member- 
ship button. I think your ideas are all right. 
Push the price and urge more squabs eaten, as 
all squab raisers and shippers want that. 
The last year I shipped over one hundred 
thousand squabs to the New York market. 
We seem to have a fine country for squab- 
raising, and I hope it may come to be one of 
the great things. Wish you good success. 

This is not an uncommon experience: " Be- 
fore I commenced to correspond with you I 
bought five pairs of Homers of a dealer near 
home and I got eight cocks and two hens, and 
he will not exchange back so I can mate mine 
up. Now, I am about ready to get the ones I 
had written you about, special offer No. 2, and 
I would like to get also six of the No. 1 hens 
to mate with the six odd cocks I have. If 
you can fill the order in this way I will send 
the money as soon as I hear from you."- — H. W. 
Nims, Minnesota. 

I entered my five pairs of pigeons, each pair 
of solid red Carneaux, white Maltese, white 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, blue checker 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, and blue 
checker Swiss Mondaines, at Seymour, Colum- 
bus and Franklin Poultry Shows (Indiana) 
and captured all fifteen first premiums, or 
five first premiums at each show. Our judges 
said that my birds cannot be beaten. Don't 
you think it is a good record to win fifteen 
straight first premiums? — George S. Beyer, 
Indiana. 

The pigeons which I bought from you a 
little more than a year ago (six pairs Plymouth 
Rock White Homers and six pairs Plymouth 
Rock No. 1 Homers) are certainly fine, and 
I now (June 27) have nearly three hundred 
birds and they are splendid pigeons. I have 
at present two pairs that have three fine 
squabs each and also one pair sitting on four 
eggs. I haven't been trying to dispose of any 
as yet, but in a month or two I am going to be 
in a position to sell quite a lot of squabs. — 
E. G. Davidson, Illinois. 

The three pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers 
I bought in March, 1910, multiplied so fast 
that up to November inclusive, I raised thirty- 
four squabs, and every one of these weighed 
one pound apiece alive when four weeks old. — 
John N. Moeller, Connecticut, 
rights reserved. 



340 



APPENDIX G 









1 




s 



MR. LLOYD PAID $50 FOR THIS HOMER. 
It is an investment because he sells for good prices the racing stock 
bred from her. 



Question: I send you a newspaper clipping 
showing today's San Francisco quotations: 
pigeons $1.50 a dozen, squabs $2.50 a dozen. 
I spoke to a Chinaman the other day and 
asked him what he asked for squabs and he 
said fifty cents each. He showed me some 
and they were common pigeons. The China- 
men are big squab eaters. Would it pay me 
to ship to Eastern markets in large lots or 
would you seek a home market? Answer: 
Sell squabs right where you are. Your present 
doubt is caused by assuming that those figures 
you saw in the newspaper are correct, just 
because they were in print. As I explain 
periodically, those figures are what the commis- 
sion men would like to pay to get the squabs, 
not what they are obliged to pay a breeder of 
intelligence. The Chinaman gave you the 
straight tip. He said $6 a dozen, therefore 
sell at wholesale at $3 and $4 a dozen. 

For scouring out the drinking fountains and 
bathpans, I use baking soda and scalding hot 
water. This cleans and purifies the vessels 
and leaves them fresh and sweet. — James Y. 
Egbert, West Virginia. 

My birds are coming on so fast that I have 
to build larger quarters for them. The demand 
for squabs here continues very good, prices, 
too. — Walter I. Hayes, Colorado. 



$50.00 PAID FOR A MILE- 
A-MINUTE FLYER, by Alfred 
Lloyd. I have bought for $50 
the Atlantic combine winner 
(see photograph) which won 
the three-hundxed-mile race in 
the Maiden district. This Ho- 
mer is the best hen in the United 
States flown in 1909. She was 
competing against thirty dis- 
tricts, two hundred lofts, 1274 
birds in the contest. The race 
was from Midland, Ontario, to 
Everett, Massachusetts. This 
bird made a speed of 1753.22 
yards, or very nearly a mile a 
minute. One of my customers 
flew a bird that he bred off of 
birds which he bought from me 
in the greater Boston concourse 
race. He won first diploma 
in Maiden district and won 
third diploma and third cup 
with 1864 yards a minute. This 
Homer is a straight bird im- 
ported by the Plymouth Rock 
Squab Company. The man who 
flew the bird is Joseph McKane, 
of Maiden district. The race 
was flown October 17, 1909. 

I stopped at the Kirkwood 
Hotel, one of the leading hotels 
of Des Moines, and asked what 
they were paying for Homer 
squabs, and I found they were 
paying $4.25 a dozen for those 
weighing seven pounds or over 
to the dozen. I asked if they could use any, 
and they said they could not at present, as 
they are getting a regular supply from some 
one out of town; but they told me of two other 
hotels that can use quite a number at the same 
price, so I consider our home market pretty 
good. — Charles Starkey, Iowa. 

I could have sold the last order of pigeons a 
dozen times over, but none of my pigeons are 
for sale. I was quite proud of the comments 
and attention they received at the depot. You 
selected a fine bunch of birds, and I sincerely 
thank you. If I have occasion to order more 
soon, you will get my order. — Dr. I. B. Thomp- 
son, California. 

If you will look at your books, you will find 
I bought three pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers 
of you about two years ago. I have sold about 
$100 worth of squabs outside of what we have 
used ourselves. At the present time I have 
about nine dozen mated pairs. — John Freel, 
Illinois. 

I have the beginnings of a really good pigeon 
plant of the Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. 
From the original eight birds which I bought 
in April, 1910, I hgve now, January 26, 1911, 
seventy fine birds. — Ethel M. Watson, Cali- 
fornia. 



APPENDIX G 



341 



DO NOT HELP SQUABS OUT OF THE 
SHELL, by M. C. Martin. I have received 
inquiries about squabs dying in the shell. 
Some have said that they had helped dozens 
of young out of the shells and that many of 
them had died in the shells, and many that 
they helped out died later. 

I had the same experience several years ago. 
I used to become impatient after the eggs were 
"pipped," and have killed many a squab by 
helping it out of the shell before it was ready. 
Some young break the shell slightly two or 
three days before they get out, others come out 
quicker, but for pity's sake let the eggs alone 
and do not try to get the squabs out ahead of 
time. A little one that cannot get out of the 
shell itself is not worth helping out, for it is 
not healthy and will very likely die anyway, 
but the harm is this: You kill so many good 
young by pulling them out before they are 
ready. One writer stated that the young 
seemed stuck fast to the shell and she had to 
pull them out. _ The young were very likely all 
right had she just left the eggs alone and let 
the young run their own business, viz., getting 
out of the shell. " Care killed a cat," and it 
has killed many a pigeon as well. 

There are two kinds of squab breeders, those 
who are too stingy to feed a sufficient amount 
of the higher priced foods or luxuries, and the 
other class who treat their birds like pet 
canaries, and feed too much of the rich foods. 

Don't help the young out of the shell. Let 
nature attend to this. 

Don't give baths excepting on warm days in 
winter weather. 

Don't be stingy, but " treat " your birds to 
the luxuries as several writers have indicated 
in the magazine columns in their bills of fare 
for feeding. 

Don't " treat " the birds all the time to 
luxuries or they will become like candy-fed 
children, disordered and sickly. 

Don't jump at conclusions about your birds 
and their habits. " Make haste slowly," and 
study the birds. 

My plant now consists of twelve units, and 
the structure is fourteen feet wide and 120 
feet long. Three years ago I started with 
five pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers, having 
no intention of increasing my flock this soon, 
and now I have 400 pairs of birds. I am now 
building another structure containing six units, 
sixty feet long and fourteen feet wide. — Frank 
Hucht, Kansas. 

My Homer squabs weigh alive as I sell them, 
nine or ten pounds to the dozen. The Car- 
neaux or Carhomes weigh at four weeks old, 
while yet on the nest, one pound each, or about 
twelve pounds to the dozen, average. I got 
my first pigeons in 1906, Plymouth Rock Extra 
Homers. In 1908 I got Carneaux same place. 
— Graham Roys, Michigan. 

The sunny squab breeders are the successful 
ones. Follow the failures home and you find 
debt, gloom and snarling. 



REASON WHY SQUABS DIE IN THE 
SHELL, by Elmer C. Rice. Squabs dying in 
the shell have puzzled many. In all such 
cases, I formerly gave these causes: a damp 
loft and lack of vitality due to improper feeding. 
The second is rather indefinite, being a result 
rather than a cause. I have no doubts now 
that the two causes, and the only two causes 
are : dampness and lack of ventilation. 

_ I have been keeping track of letters of this 
kind and have watched to see the results of 
advice. The average case of squabs dying in 
the shell is mild, affecting only a few. Be- 
ginning over a year ago, however, Alfred 
Karker, a Wisconsin correspondent, had an 
adventure which he tells as follows: " Last 
year I wrote you asking what caused the squabs 
to die in the shell, and you told me it was 
either a damp loft, lack of vitality, improper 
feeding. Last spring I lost at least sixty to 
seventy squabs this way, and this spring I am 
having the same trouble. I have been feeding 
only the best grains and as you direct in your 
Manual. My loft is in the hay-loft of my 
barn directly overhead the horses, and I think 
the steam from the horses goes through the 
ceiling and condenses in the hay-loft and 
causes this dampness. In cold weather the 
rafters in the hay-loft are all covered with 
white frost which shows that the moisture must 
come from the horses below. What would 
you advise me to do, and how can I arrange 
it to overcome this trouble without changing 
the locationof the loft? I am a subscriber 
to the magazine and think it the best published. 
Thank you for any information you can give 
me." 

I replied as follows, February 25, 1910: 
" That trouble is surely caused by dampness 
if you can see the white frost on the timbers. 
You can dry off this dampness by letting more 
fresh air into the lofts. You should arrange 
a ventilator so as to get plenty of fresh air. Do 
not be afraid of the cold. The fresh air will 
dry off your loft." 

April 21, 1910, Mr. Karker again wrote: 
" Received your letter of February 25, and wish 
to thank you for the advice you gave in regard 
to dampness in my loft. Since I tried your 
plan I have had no more trouble." 

In other words, to use language easily remem- 
bered, squabs in the shell may be drowned 
by too much water, or suffocated by bad air. 
I find that pigeon breeders able to tell damp- 
ness when they see it are as scarce as those able 
to judge grain. In case of doubt, no matter 
where you live, summer or winter, take out 
your windows entirely and stretch cotton cloth. 
There are absolutely no sick pigeons or squabs 
housed in dry, open-front houses and fed on 
a variety of sweet, sound, old grain and grit. 
Ability, or lack of it, to control health, as well 
as profits, is in the caretaker. 

The birds you sent me in October, 1908, are 
doing fine work, also those shipped to me last 
August. I have one red checked cock raised 
from your No. 1 Homers that weighed nineteen 
ounces at four weeks. — Jerry F. Kaftan, Ohio. 



342 



.APPENDIX'G 




APPENDIX G 



343 



I SELL SQUABS AT MY DOOR FOR $5 
A DOZEN, by Harriet L. Ayres. I have 
bought the share in chickens and pigeons from 
the young woman who started with me, so I 
own the stock now complete. I began three 
years ago last September with six pairs of 
Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. They started 
to lay within two weeks after they arrived. 
I purchased six pairs more Extras of the 
Plymouth Rock Squab Company one year 
ago last July. I have raised about five hun- 
dred. 

I have had a great many compliments on 
my pigeons for their size and beauty as well as 
for their hatching. I have been with them 
and watched them so often that I know their 
little ways very well. I find it very interesting. 
I have kept track of some and know they have 
hatched nine pairs to the year. They average 
about one pound apiece, over ten pounds to 
the dozen. I get $4.50 and $5 a dozen right 
at my door in private trade. I sell them for 
luncheons and for the sick and have sold some 
at our hotel here (New Jersey). 

I feed a mixture and find my birds do better 
on that. I give them their dainties of hemp 
and Canada peas separately. They have 
plenty of fresh well water. They have a lump 
of rock salt, and oyster shell, pigeon grit and 
charcoal before them all the time. The 
sickness I have had would not be worth 
mention and have not been troubled with 
lice, as I believe keeping them in a clean place 
is the root of health. 

I keep a cash record of everything and will 
say they more than pay for themselves. The 
pigeons alone paid for my partner's half of 
poultry and pigeons when I bought her out 
last May and a great many other things I 
have not the room to mention. I am pleased 
with the business and am convinced there is 
money in it and expect as soon as I can get 
the plans and material to put up two unit 
houses and progress in that business. I 
keep on raising chickens for the eggs as the two 
are well combined. I consider Rice's Manual 
a good one. If followed, one .cannot help 
succeed. I have found experience a very 
good teacher but one must love the work 
and be interested in the birds to make a good 
success. 

On three previous occasions we have bought 
your pigeons and found them satisfactory, 
especially the white ones. We find that your 
birds go to work rapidly, and we have a good 
demand here at a good price. — Olympian 
Homer Squab Company, Kentucky. 

My stock were Homers received from your 
company. They have been doing excellent 
work for me. I began the business in a very 
small way about two years ago with three 
pairs; now I have about 250 breeders on hand. 
— C. H. Burton, Maryland. 

Squab breeders, don't forget that no one is 
interested in your getting good prices for good 
squabs but yourself. 



HOW TO CURE PECKING, by Eleanor G. 
Ames. There is one thing I have to offer 
which may be of help to the breeders who have 
trouble with squabs being pecked. It is a 
remedy I have used with great success. Dust 
a pinch of powdered aristol on the spot. It 
will cure the sore, and as the pigeons do not 
seem to like either the taste or smell of the 
aristol, the squabs are let alone. The powder 
is quite expensive, but a little will last a long 
time. I have had great success with my 
Plymouth Rock Carneaux as breeders of squabs 
averaging seventeen ounces each. I cannot 
supply the demand for squabs among my own 
friends and acquaintances. 

I have one Plymouth Rock squab just 
three weeks old that weighs one pound, two 
ounces. I think there is some class to the 
Plymouth Rocks. The squab is a Homer and 
the largest I have raised. I have about three 
hundred now. We get S4.50 per dozen and 
all we have sold have weighed from ten to 
twelve pounds to the dozen, which I think is 
very good. I bought three pairs of Carneaux 
from another party over a year ago. One 
pair has done very well, one other pair laid a 
few times, but never hatched a squab, and the 
third pair never laid for the whole year, and 
they were turning gray and I thought I had 
fed them long enough, so killed them. If 
I ever get any more it will be from the Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Co. — A. H. Eldredge, 
New York. 

In looking back over my file of your Squab 
Magazine, I find that I have received twelve 
copies of the paper since I sent you my last 
subscription of a dollar, and as I would not 
miss a copy of the pigeon man's best standby, 
the Squab Magazine, I am sending you an 
express money order for one dollar, for which 
please send the magazine for another year. 
I have about fifty pairs of Homers, as fine, 
racy, broad chested and fast breeders as any 
one would wish to own. They are from 
Plymouth Rock stock mostly and that accounts 
for it. Though only in the business one year 
this month, I find that poor stock at any 
price is dear and as for my part I wouldn't 
take any as a gift and mix them with mine. — ■ 
R. R. Muirhead, Washington. 

There is a great demand for squabs in 
Colorado Springs. The butcher charges eighty 
cents a pair for them. Our butcher, while 
selling us a pair last week, said that he thought 
they made the most popular dish. I men- 
tioned the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. and he 
said, " Their squabs are quite famous." — 
Howard B. Carroll, Colorado. 

I hope to be able to build another pigeon 
house this spring, in which case I would place 
an order for birds with you of about the same 
number as last year, because I was and I am 
well satisfied with them. — Stefan Schwarz, 
California. 



344 



APPENDIX G 




RED AND PURE WHITE CARNEAUX. 

This photograph is the first ever printed of pure white Carneaux, 
obtained by breeding out the red of the splashed birds, exactly the 
opposite procedure of those who have bred out the white to get all- 
red Carneaux. Fully ninety per cent of Carneaux have both red 
and white in their plumage and these two colors are characteristic of 
the breed. 

When you find eggs on the floor, do not 
throw them away unless they are broken or 
cracked. Some of my best pigeons have come 
from eggs that I have found on the floor. 
Put an egg in a nest that has only one egg in it. 
If you find three eggs in a nest, take one egg 
out and put it in a nest where there is only 
one. — Pruyne Van Alstyne, New York. 

The Homers that I bought of you two years 
ago are doing fine. The squabs at four weeks 
old weigh from fourteen to sixteen ounces 
apiece, and they have been breeding eleven 
pairs a year. I think that I will want one or 
two pairs of Carneaux in the spring. — Harvey 
C. Jasperson, Wisconsin. 

The Homer females I ordered from you 
arrived today. I must say they are the finest 
birds I ever saw. Your Extra Homers must 
certainly be large birds, as these are the largest 
I ever saw. When I order again I will know 
just where to get them. — Karl Fach, Jr., Mis- 
sissippi. 

Pigeons which are observed and studied are 
more entertainment and less work. 



HOMERS ARE THE REAL 
MONEY MAKERS, by J. W. 

Arthurs. My experience in the 
squab business dates from the 
spring of 1908. I use tobacco 
stems for nest material, I have 
absolutely no lice trouble. All 
my houses are from eighteen 
to twenty-four inches off the 
ground. No rat trouble. 

I weighed all feed consumed 
by one hundred pairs for one 
year. It totaled 7500 pounds, 
and at a cost of two cents per 
pound it makes the feed cost 
of $1.50 per pair. In the same 
time the pigeons produced 1300 
squabs at a cost per squab of 
eleven and one-half cents not 
including cost of labor. This 
year feed is fully fifteen per cent 
cheaper than last. During the 
four summer months last year 
I sold from 400 pairs, 1800 
squabs. I sell all squabs to a 
dealer in Philadelphia. 

I have tried several breeds 
of pigeons and as yet have 
found none that I can do as 
well with as the Homer. It is 
a wonderful bird, and I believe 
it will have to be the basis of 
most large squab plants for 
some time. My ideal squab 
pigeon is one that has the many 
good qualities of the Homer 
and that will produce a one- 
pound squab. I weighed this 
week two squabs out of the 
same nest, eighteen and twenty- 
three ounces, and as far as I 
know they are straight Homers. 
Personally, I am delighted with the raising 
of squabs as a business. I enjoy the work and 
am satisfied with the result. I have had ex- 
perience with chickens and can obtain the 
same results with one-half the labor with 
pigeons as I could with chickens. 

The birds I received from the Plymouth 
Rock Squab Co. October 31 pleased me very 
much. Every pair is sitting on eggs, except 
one pair of Maltese with squabs five days old. 
Enclosed you will find Money Order for $10 
for which send me six pairs more of your 
mammoth crosses. This is my third order. 
I would have sent you a larger one but my loft 
would be overcrowded, as I now have a large 
flock of Homers which I raised from the six 
pairs of No. 1 stock purchased of you January, 
1909. — Mrs. Ada T. Hayden, Massachusetts. 

A little thing is a little thing, but faithful- 
ness in the little things of squab breeding is a 
very great thing. 

More squabs, better squabs, higher prices for 
squabs. More business squab talk and less 
politics and personalities. 



APPENDIX G 



345 



SQUABS PROFITABLE TO ME FOR 
FIFTEEN YEARS, by William P. Gray. We 

often read in the poultry papers of hens that 
do phenomenal laying during a short period 
of time. Usually this will be for the spring 
months, with no account given for the fall 
laying. Such reports are of little value, and are 
misleading to the novice. Yearly records are 
what count. It is the same with pigeons: 
the birds that breed through the fall and winter 
are the ones that raise ten pairs of squabs a 
year — • they are the mortgage lifters. For 
the past fifteen years, pigeons have continued 
to be a good investment with me. The average 
cost of feed per year for a pair has been $1.20, 
and I have never sold a dozen squabs for less 
than $3 a dozen. My birds in large flocks 
always average better than twelve squabs per 
pair per year. 

I have been engaged in the poultry business 
in all its branches, both for myself and manag- 
ing large plants for others profitably. I believe 
my observations are of some value. 

The advantages of squab raising over broiler 
raising are briefly as follows: 

1. One thousand squabs can be raised 
successfully on a plot that one hundred chicks 
would be crowded on. 

2. No such expensive equipment is required 
to raise squabs, as with broilers on a large 
scale. 

3. No incubators to watch or cranky setting 
hens to fuss with. 

4. Small chicks require five feeds a day 
and constant attention, while in squab raising 
with a hopper filled with food once a day, the 
old birds attend to the wants of the squabs 
entirely. 

5. Squabs do not get into cold corners and 
get chilled, nor wander of- in the bushes and 
get lost. 

6. Squabs do not require a range where they 
are liable to become the prey of rats, cats, 
hawks and crows. 

7. The death rate is almost nothing in 
squab raising, while it is something appalling 
in young chickens. 

8. Squabs mature in one-third the time that 
broilers do. 

9. Squabs are raised the year round at a good 
profit, while broilers are rarely raised success- 
fully more than six months in the year. 

10. Three squabs can be picked in the time 
it takes to pick one broiler, and the three 
squabs will sell for twice as much as one 
broiler. 

11. No need of getting soaked to the skin 
driving stock to shelter every time a shower 
comes up, as squabs are always safe in their 
nest. 

12. No night work in all kinds of weather 
as in the broiler business, stoking coal or 
standing on your head to look at a brooder 
lamp. 

13. The broiler raiser must be continually 
on the job. He has no Sundays and no 
holidays, while the squab raiser can often with 
a few hours' work in the morning filling hoppers 
and fountains have the balance of day himself. 



I can state without any qualifications that 
my experience has proved squab . raising to 
be the best paying branch of the poultry 
industry. Every ten cents' worth of feed used 
will maintain a pair of breeders and raise a 
squab selling from thirty cents to fifty cents. 

I trust these facts may put some one on the 
right track. I am at present caring for 1800 
head, mostly small chicks, also hens, pigeons, 
squabs, ducks, and geese. 

SQUAB ORDERS TOO LARGE FOR ME 
TO FILL, by C. S. Eby. I am going to make 
a specialty of Carneaux, as I am having good 
success with them. I started in a four by 
eight chicken coop with some Homers. I then 
built a unit squabhouse, and have it full of 
Homers, and have no more room for any more 
units. I am now looking for a larger place 
so as to go into the business on a larger scale, 
having the desire to raise them by the thou- 
sand. I still get from sixty to seventy cents 
a pair for squabs wholesale, and they retail 
here (Michigan) at ninety cents and one dollar. 
I have been doing all wholesale business and 
I am now going in for the retail trade. I can 
sell all the squabs at sixty cents a pair and 
better. The only trouble I have is that the 
orders are larger than I can fill and that makes 
it hard on me. A few weeks ago I went to a 
market downtown and inquired about squabs, 
and the marketman told me he sold them 
whenever he could get them. So I left my 
telephone number with him. A week or so 
later he telephoned me an order for two dozen. 
I had been selling right along and did not have 
enough squabs to fill it, so he told me his 
opinion of me. I resolved not to advertise 
unless I am sure of the goods. I am going to 
move into a place where I can raise a thousand 
pairs of pigeons. I have been in the business 
two years and feel confident that I can make a 
success. My birds have been greatly admired 
and praised for their size and quality. 

I beg to advise you that the shipment of 
115 Extra Plymouth Rock Homers reached 
here in good shape Saturday night and on 
Sunday morning I liberated them in their 
new home. I wish to thank you for your 
liberality in sending me the two extra pairs, 
and for sending me such a fine, healthy lot 
of birds, not one of them being in any but the 
best of condition. I have some very fine 
stock, originally bought from you, and this 
last lot of birds, taking them all the way 
through, equals the balance of my stock, 
which has been bred from year to year to pro- 
duce only stocky, full breasted birds. Your 
guarantee accompanying the shipment is 
very broad and fair, and had I known its 
terms, my letter of October 21, 1911, to you 
would have been superfluous, for the guarantee 
itself covers everything. I then asked of 
you concerning matings. I am very much 
pleased with all of the birds, and especially 
with the pair of Carneaux, which are un- 
doubtedly the real thing. — B. N. Spangenberg, 
New Jersey. 



346 



APPENDIX G 




HOW I DRESS MY SQUABS. 

" The method here described applies to those which I deliver to 
families. I draw them and cut off the head and feet. I do not 
believe in selling squabs alive to a retail trade." — R. C. Boyd. 



WHY SQUABS SHOULD NOT BE SOLD 
ALIVE, by R. C. Boyd. The squab from 
which the above picture was made weighed 
seven-eighths of a pound: a white-skinned 
Homer. The picture shows the way I dress 
my squabs for my private customers, with 
one exception: I draw them and take crop 
out perfectly clean. I also give with each 
order a couple of printed recipes. I do not sell 
live squabs to customers except on special 
request. I give them no reduction. I charge 
the same for a live squab as I do for a dressed 
one. Consequently my customers do not 
order live ones. One should not sell live 
squabs to private trade because (1) some wi'l 
order to get them a little cheaper than dressed 
ones. (2) It is a knock against the squab 
business. (3) No cook or other servant in 
private families likes to dress poultry. If 
they have to do it, you bet they could burn 
them a little or have them cooked in some 
way that would make the mistress not want 
any more squabs in her house. When I solicit 
customers, the first thing they ask me is: 
" You dress them, do you? How much are 
they in the rough? " Answer: Seventy cents 
small, eighty-five cents large. " How much 
dressed? " Answer: Seventy cents small, and 
eighty-five cents large. I hope all other 
squab men who are catering to private trade 
will not sell any squabs in the rough. 

The seventy-five pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Homers which I purchased of you are doing 
good work. They are the most carefully 
selected birds as to size and color that I ever 
purchased. The Carneaux are large birds, 
and breeding rapidly. — D. D. Powell, Cali- 
fornia. 

It pays to be a live squab breeder. Remem- 
ber that the inscriptions on the tombstones of 
the dead ones do not tell what their faults were. 



$30 FOR GRAIN, $100 TO 
$120 FOR SQUABS, by J. B. 
Beckman. I must say I am 
doing fine with my Extra Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers and they 
are doing fine with me, so we 
get along very well. I do for 
them and they do for me. You 
ought to see the swell addition 
I am putting on my plant for 
three hundred pairs more. I 
have not shipped very many 
squabs for I have been saving 
them for breeding birds. I 
have now seven hundred pairs 
not counting squabs. I never 
lost a breeding bird in the last 
moult, and the house is just a 
mass of squabs, nests and eggs. 
I was the first one in this 
Missouri town to start a squab 
plant and they all laughed at 
me and assured me I must have 
money to burn, and went so far 
as to tell me I had no sense to 
put up such a fine building for 
the old pigeons. If I had listened to them I 
would not have a fine plant worth about $2200, 
with birds, and just as it stands I would not 
take for my place now $6000. But I have them 
all thinking when they come out and see for 
themselves what is going on at my house. 
Last Sunday there were fifty-one persons out 
to see the fine birds and I feel very proud of it, 
too. 

There is a man close to me who is running 
a dairy farm. He has ten milk cows and he 
said when I showed him my account in the 
German-American Bank, just on my squab 
plant from last March to first of September, 
1909, that I had his father beat on his dairy 
business. He didn't say how much. 

From March 18, 1909, to September 11, 
1909, I sold $392.63 worth of squabs from 229 
pairs of breeders, expenses $150.35, total of 
$242.28 net profit. If I had 1000 pairs I 
would have made a nice piece of money and 
you see I will make more when I get better 
posted on these lines, raising my squabs and 
marketing also. There is always something 
to learn about this. 

I am shipping seven dozen fine squabs per 
week, which bring me from $25 to $30 a week, 
and it costs me $1 a day for feeding, or $30 a 
month. I tell you it's fine doings. 

I have been in this business now almost two 
years, have made quite a success, and I am 
well pleased when one comes to see my plant, 
for it is a dandy. 

My Plymouth Rock Homer squabs are 
dandies. Weighed several pairs of squabs 
already, and one pair twenty-six days old 
weighed two pounds four ounces. None less 
than three quarters of a pound each have I 
found yet. My birds are all working now 
and I expect great doings from them , for they 
are certainly hustlers. — Norman E. Crozier, 
New York. 



APPENDIX G 



347 




SEE THE BIG SIZE OF THESE EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN TEXAS. 



TEXAS JUDGE ON SQUABS vs. 
CHICKENS, by Ocie Speer. I am one of the 

justices of the Court of Civil Appeals for this 
State (Texas) and my interest in pigeons and 
poultry is purely for diversion, and I must say 
1 have found it most interesting. As between 
pigeons and chickens, I am decidedly for the 
former. This conclusion has been reached 
after a very thorough comparative test, for 
one season, at least. During the past spring 
I have expended nearly two hundred dollars 
in incubators, coops, chickens, eggs, oil, and 
feed. Have set nearly two thousand eggs, 
hatched nearly one thousand chicks, eaten 
only about twenty, and now have, of all ages, 
only about one hundred. They began dying 
immediately after they were hatched — indeed, 
hundreds of them made greater haste, and 
died in the shell — and those that didn't die 
of bowel trouble waited to die of sore head 
and roup. I have fertilized my kitchen 
garden with their decaying carcasses. I have 
tried all the remedies, from copperas to car- 
bolic acid, and fed everything from bran to 
alfalfa. I have all the chickens I want — 
in a Pickwickian sense. I have eaten more 
broilers and had more pies from my few pigeons 
than from all my chickens. I have never lost 
a pigeon, but a few squabs have died of canker. 
I fed many bushels of grain and chops in an 
automatic feeder and finally canker appeared 
in my loft. I immediately ceased using the 
box and threw the grain on the gravel bed of 
the flyer, and the trouble disappeared entirely. 
If I use the feeder again I shall remove the 
board bottom and replace it with screen wire, 
which will act as a sieve for the dust to which 
I attribute the canker. 

The plain way to get good prices for squabs 
is to refuse to ,',ell at poor prices. 



ONE YEAR'S GROWTH. I would like to 
write to let you know how I have succeeded 
with my Carneaux and Homers which I pur- 
chased from Mr. Rice of the Plymouth Rock 
Squab Company about one year ago last 
March. Starting with twenty-six pairs of 
Carneaux, nine pairs of colored Extra Homers 
and four pairs of Whites, I now have over 
three hundred Carneaux, one hundred Extras 
and fifty Whites. In fact, so many that 
I have no more room, and will have to sell 
some. — William McK. Ewart, Pennsylvania. 

I have been very successful in the squab 
business. Have one hundred pairs of the 
finest Homers that you ever saw, all raised 
fron thirteen pairs of Plymouth Rock Extras. 
All my squabs are sold to private trade for 
five cents an ounce. My lowest weight has 
been ten and one-half ounces, highest seventeen 
and one-quarter ounces each; average weight 
thirteen and three-quarter ounces each. Have 
sold several pairs of breeders for four dollars 
a pair. Trusting that you are doing a success- 
ful business, I still remain a friend of the 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co. — J. E. Ross, New 
York. 

Replying to your favor of recent date, as 
to how my ten pairs of Plymouth Rock Car- 
neaux were doing, I beg to advise that I now 
have about ' three hundred very fine birds, 
sixty working pairs, and all in the very best 
of health, never yet had a sick bird. I expect 
to be in the market again soon , either for more 
Carneaux, or some of your famous Plymouth 
Rock Homers, as I like your way of doing 
business very much. I thank you for your 
kindly inquiry, and wish you continued 
prosperity. — W. A. Sharp, Minnesota. 



348 



APPENDIX G 




MY FEEDBOX IS SIMPLE BUT GOOD. 



This illustrates the idea. The board on the sides should be about 
three inches wide and the opening above it two and one-half inches 
wide. The box may be any length to suit any size flock. The top 

board is removable. It prevents soiling. I feed grit and shells also time. I once neglected this for 
from this type of box. The birds cannot squeeze into this box.— one week, and got a large^ nurn 



I FEED ONLY ONCE DAILY 
FROM THIS BOX, by Fred 
Ambrose. I consider the feed 
question of the most importance 
in raising squabs. I lost more 
birds my first summer through 
canker by feeding too much 
cracked corn than I would lose 
in ten years from other ail- 
ments. Last summer I used 
Venetian red in the drinking 
water as a preventive, and had 
only two cases of it. I cured 
both of these with two doses 
each of Venetian red put in their 
mouths dry. For going light I 
use the red and pull out all the 
tail feathers, and very seldom I 
lose a bird. 

I find that the birds must 
have grit before them all the 



Fred Ambrose. 



ONE WOMAN'S SUCCESS, by Mrs. Ida 
Knosman, Indiana. My success is due to the 
Extra Homers and service given by the Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Company. In July, 1910, 
I bought twenty-four pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Extras. Now (October, 1911) I have sixty 
mated pairs and 150 youngsters. I intend 
to start buying adult birds January 1 and 
increase my flock to six hundred. I will buy 
of the Plymouth Rock Squab Company, so I'll 
get Al birds. My experience has taught me 
that it is cheaper to buy adult pigeons than 
to wait and raise the young and feed six months. 

In June, 1910, I purchased thirteen pairs 
of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, and 
now (November 2, 1911) have about eighty 
pairs of breeders and 140 youngsters. Have 
just started to sell my squabs and find a ready 
market. Can get $4.25 per dozen for eight 
to nine-pound squabs. I am on a rented 
place, but expect to move in the spring and 
build more lofts and increase my breeders. 
If you know of any one in this locality who 
has Plymouth Rock breeders and cannot dis- 
pose of their squabs at a fair price, would be 
pleased to have their address, as at present 
I can dispose of ten to fifteen dozen more 
squabs a week than I can supply. There are 
a great many breeders here who have what 
are called American Homers which breed a 
squab a little larger than the common pigeon. 
Enclosed find ten cents to join the National 
Squab Breeders Association. — H. W. Moore, 
Ohio. 

I received some of your goods last spring 
and I am very glad to say that they have 
given me very much satisfaction, especially 
the birds, which have raised squabs weighing 
over a pound apiece. — J. W. Bolgiano, Mary- 
land. 



ber of undersized squabs. I 

opened some of them and found 

that their gizzards were about 

half of their normal size, consequently they 

could not digest enough food to fatten up on. 

It costs me about ten cents a month per pair 
to feed the birds, and I receive fifty cents for a 
pair of squabs, twelve ounces or over, each. 
They invariably weigh that at three weeks, 
some of them weighing a pound at that age. 
I have raised my stock from the Plymouth Rock 
Homers that- I got from Mr. Bice. All my 
squabs are sold alive to marketmen in this 
vicinity. I haven't tried to work up a retail 
trade, not having time to attend to it. 

I have read a great deal about mice scaring 
pigeons so that they don't breed, but from my 
experience I must say that I can't see it. I 
had lots of them in my loft and got just as 
many squabs as I ever got. I caught five in 
one trap one night so you can see they were 
pretty plentiful. One built a nest in a nest- 
box, right alongside of a pigeon nest with eggs 
in it, but the pigeons sat on their eggs just the 
same. Of course rats are another thing. 

I send a sketch of the box I use for feeding 
grain, grit and shells. It can be made any 
length to suit the number of birds and will 
keep the grain clean. It has an advantage over 
some feeders because a larger number of pigeons 
can get around it at once. This enables the 
patents to feed their young at daylight instead 
of squealing for a couple of hours while the old 
birds are scrapping around a self-feeder to get 
a chance to fill up. 

I received the birds and Manual, and cer- 
tainly cannot recommend either too highly. 
I am an old breeder of pigeons and thought I 
knew about all that was to be known, but 
on perusing the Manual, I found out I could 
still be taught. It is the best book of its 
kind that I ever read, and would not part with 
it at any price if I could not get another. — • 
Charles Jansen, Illinois. 



APPENDIX G 



349 



FLORIDA'S BIG DEMAND, 
by W. M. Brown. We wish to 
get every person in Florida in- 
terested in squabs. We could 
at the present time sign one 
contract with one concern for 
four hundred dozen squabs at 
$1800 for a four months' sup- 
ply at one hundred dozen a 
month ($4.50 a dozen) and 
could more than double it. 
We did not desire to cater so 
much to the tourist season, but 
went after the leading restau- 
rants in our nearest city and 
got them, for the year. In one 
afternoon we had contracts to 
take every squab that the 
squabhouse we had built could 
supply, and at top-notch prices 
Not only these, but one hotel 
made a request that we submit 
to them a proposition so that 
they could be guaranteed fifty- 
five dozen squabs a week. 
These are not half the demands 
that have already been made 
upon us to supply squabs. 

There is only one thing in 
this matter which is lacking, 
and that is competition. We 
want it and we would like it 
from the North. There is now 
the best opportunity for squab 
raisers to come here and do 
well. 

The bugbear which has held 
back so many squab raisers as 
well as poultrymen from com- 
ing to Florida is mites and 
lice. This fear is shown by 
people who are prone to lazi- 
ness for there are no more mites 
and lice here than in the North. 

Another condition which is becoming more 
and more dominant every year in this State, 
which any squab raiser by a little push can use 
to his advantage, is this: The people of inland 
Florida are making the coast towns their sum- 
mer resorts. The influx of Northern tourists 
during the winter compels a great majority of 
the Floridans to stay home and attend to 
business and their recreation must wait over 
until summer, and as it is much cooler here 
than in the North, naturally they come to the 
coast. They are epicures to a large degTee, 
and you will notice that they are always after 
a nice fish or an excellent turned chicken, but 
this summer they are to a good extent to be 
treated on this section of the coast to the 
luscious squab. 

I am a subscriber of the Squab Magazine and 
think it a very up-to-date squab periodical. 
I have one thousand birds and anything new 
I like to try in the line of good cheap feed. I 
have been very successful in the business by 
following your Manual, which I would not be 
without. — Walter A. Hagedorn, Ohio. 




HOW THEY BUILD SQUABHOUSES IN FLORIDA. 

Only one thickness of boarding. (Mr. Brown is seen standing by 
fly-pen in lower picture.) 

In 1909 I sent to Boston for Plymouth Rock 
Homers from the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. 
I have sold squabs for breeders when about 
three months old for $1.00 per pair. I have 
always fed the best grain and given them plenty 
of fresh water and have had but one or two 
sick ones. The hotels will take all that I 
can raise at from $2.75 to $3.00 per dozen. 
In the fall I am going to build for one hundred 
and fifty pairs. I have raised my flock of 
sixteen birds in less than two years to over 
one hundred and fifty.— F. S. Sadler, Okla- 
homa. 

I have about three hundred Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers, and they are fine ones. The 
weight of a fifteen-day squab which I examined 
yesterday was three-quarters of a pound. — 
L. O. George, Maryland. 

I purchased six pairs of Homers from you 
in 1903 and was pleased with them. I want 
some good Carneaux for foundation stock, 
good heavy birds for squabs. Am not par- 
ticular as to feathers. — E. W. Lewis, Colorado. 



350 



APPENDIX G 






MR. HOWE'S SQUABHOUSE AND HIS CARNEAUX. 



I am writing to ask you about picking and 
dressing squabs for market. I just picked 
and shipped six dozen to Heineman Brothers, 
New York, and I find it simply impossible 
to get the feathers off the head and upper 
part of the neck without tearing them. Does 
the market object to the feathers being left 
on the head and upper part of the neck? Any 
information you can give me along the killing 
and picking line will be highly appreciated. 
The Select Homers I purchased from you 
about twelve months ago are doing splendid 
work. Out of the twenty-five pairs two pairs 
lost their mates, which left me twenty-three 
working pairs. From them I have sold a good 
many squabs, and some mated pairs that I 
mated from them, and have mated up alto- 
gether about one hundred and fifty pairs of 
fine Homers. Answer. You do not pick the 
leathers off the head and upper part of the 
neck. Leave them on. Do not cut off the 
head. Clean pick the body and wings. Be 
sure you ship the killed squabs as a "gen- 
eral special " with twenty-five per cent off for 
ice. 



FAT SQUABS FOR ME ON 
THREE GRAINS, by H. A. 

Howe. Starting a year ago I 
stopped using hemp entirely, 
substituting a mixture of one 
part oil meal, one part table 
salt and three parts sharp 
sand. This I keep before them 
in hoppers all the time, and be- 
coming accustomed to it they 
eat it freely. The only grains 
I feed are peas, coarse cracked 
corn and red wheat. I give a 
mixture of these grains twice 
daily, at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., in 
an open feed trough with a re- 
volving stick running along the 
top (see page 108 of this book). 
I give them just what they 
will eat up clean between feed- 
ing times, feeding more corn in 
winter than in summer, increas- 
ing the amount of wheat in 
summer. This method may be 
in defiance of many of your 
feeding schedules, but I am 
turning out Plymouth Rock 
Carneaux squabs that average 
a pound apiece, and Plymouth 
Rock Homer squabs that go 
better than ten pounds to the 
dozen. 

The markets here (Massa- 
chusetts) from October 1 until 
July 1 are very good, the prices 
running from $3.50 up to $5.50 
a dozen for good squabs. 

The squab plant is located on 
a side hill that slopes to the 
south and consists of a build- 
ing of the shed-roof type that 
houses five hundred breeders, 
both Homers and Carneaux. 
During the past winter I re- 
moved the top sashes from the windows in 
the pens, substituting cotton cloth, which has 
been very satisfactory, giving a drier house 
and healthier stock. 

I have for the past two years given all young 
stock raised for breeders their Hberty during 
the entire summer, thereby reducing my feed 
bill and developing hardier breeders. 

A few more words and I shall make these in 
the form of good advice : Start with good stock, 
enlarge slowly, give the business a chance 
under sound business principles and failure 
will be an unknown quantity. 



If nothing happens I am going to put up two 
extra buildings this fall and winter, and next 
spring I will want from you at least five hundred 
pairs of selected Homers. I am planning to 
come up that way about that time, and will 
call on you and make arrangements for them. 

Hoping to be able to do much business with 
you in the near future, and thanking you in 
advance for your information, I remain, 
H. A. Henkel, Virginia. 



APPENDIX G 



351 




SQUABS, FRUIT, POULTRY, VEGETABLES RAISED HERE BY MR. VAIL. 



I SELL MY SQUABS BY TELEPHONE 
FOR $6.60, by Harry M. Vail. My wife and 
I came to New Jersey last May from New York 
City with the intention of starting in the poultry 
business. While we were waiting for our 
incubators to hatch our first chicks, we became 
interested in the pigeons that were already on 
the place. Our admiration for them later 
changed to genuine love. There were nearly 
seven hundred pigeons in the lot. Since the 
accompanying photograph was taken we have 
increased them to 1280. The breeding house 
is 172 feet long, divided into fourteen pens 
with movable double nestboxes. The floor 
is of concrete and the inside walls are of 
asbestos plaster. The house throughout is 
equipped with a self-regulating hot-water sys- 
tem, the same as are my brooder houses. 

I am running a combination poultry, squab, 
fruit and vegetable farm. We do no advertis- 
ing, as our squabs and other products do it 
for us. Squabs at this writing (Februaiy 13) 
are bringing $6.60 a dozen retail and $5 whole- 
sale. Naturally I do no shipping. 

One of my hotel customers supplies me with 
two barrels of bread a week. It costs us noth- 
ing and as I serve him anyway it costs nothing 
for hauling. I feed the bread slightly mois- 
tened, with a small quantity of commercial 
beef scraps added. It makes a splendid filler 
for squabs. 

I never try at first to see a prospective cus- 
tomer personally, as you might as well try 
to see the King of England as the people of 
Montclair. I secure their telephone numbers 



and call them up. I invariably secure my first 
introduction that way, state who I am, and 
what I have to sell. I mention several cus- 
tomers that I am already serving, and in a 
town like Montclair they all know of one 
another. I make an appointment and am 
seldom disappointed by the customer. If you 
are fortunate enough to secure them as cus- 
tomers and if you have the goods, you seldom 
have trouble holding them. 

I guess I owe you a report about the Extra 
Homers that you sent me in July of last year. 
They have excelled my expectations. I have 
more than one thousand birds at present in 
spite of having sold some squabs since and 
having lost a good many during last winter 
while I was in the East, in consequence of 
carelessness by my former partner, and in 
spite of having moved them twice. They are 
admired much, especially my " old Guard," 
as I call my original stock bought of you. — 
Stefan Schwarz, California. 

A little over a year ago we purchased some 
Homers from you and for breeding they beat 
any that I ever saw. I do not think there are 
any that can beat your birds for breeding 
qualities. — William E. Merritt, New York. 

There are very few of my squabs that come 
less than ten pounds to the dozen. I have a 
good Plymouth Rock stock of Homers to breed 
from bought from Mr. Rice. — F. G. Fillmore, 
Missouri. 



352 



APPENDIX G 




PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRA HOMER OF BELGIAN ORIGIN. 

Other breeds come and go, but our larce, first-class Homers have 
no equal as money-makers in the squab business. _ The original photo- 
graph from which the enlargement was made is seen in the lower 
left-hand corner. 



INDIANA WOMAN GETS 
$3.65-$4.60 A DOZEN, by Mrs. 
M. Bunyard. My Extra Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers are doing 
splendidly. I do not see how 
they could do much better. 
They are fine healthy birds 
and splendid workers. 

I have sold since April 27, 
1910, sixty-one dozen squabs, 
besides giving some away. I 
have got a good price for all I 
have sold this summer. I have 
been getting from $3.65 to $4.60 
a dozen for the last month. 
Our banker says there must be 
a lot of money in pigeons from 
the amount of checks we bring 
in. I hardly ever lose a squab. 
I haven't given a dose of medi- 
cine this winter. I kill, pick 
and pack all my squabs my- 
self. I have five squabhouses, 
one built in the left of the barn 
and three in the barn with the 
flying pens outside built up to 
the barn. I have one squab- 
house in the coal shed. I 
find my birds like clover hay 
(that has been threshed out for 
the seed) to build nests. They 
never know when to quit 
building with it. 

Some time ago I wrote to you 
in regard to purchasing twenty- 
five pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Homers. I was finally per- 
suaded by the proprietor of a 
local plant to invest the money 
in a larger breed, Runt-Duchess- 
Homers. He represented them 
to be faster breeders than the 
Homer and said that they bred 
larger squabs. The former is 
anything but true, and he barely 
gets by on the latter statement. 
I am sorry that I did not then 
know of the breeding qualities 
of the straight Cameaux. I 
have recently taken in a partner 
and we have decided to rid our- 
selves of this mixed breed if 
possible, and fill this unit with 
straight Carneaux from your 
company. — T. R. Frank, Rhode 
Island. 



I have been steadily building up my flock 
of Plymouth Rock Homers, selling only enough 
squabs to pay for their feed, and have found 
my birds all you represented, often having 
squabs weighing eighteen ounces. Both of 
us have gotten a great deal of pleasure out of 
handling them. We sell their output to the 
steamers sailing from Galveston, having felt 
out the market and knowing it to be good. — 
W. S. Faires, Texas. 



Our stock was originally purchased from 
the Plymouth Rock Squab Co., both Carneaux 
and Homers and we can assure you our stock 
is good. We have several letters from Messrs. 
Silz of New York, to whom we ship most of 
our birds. We also supply the Hotel Royal 
Poinciana, Palm Beach, Florida, during their 
season, and we can assure you that nothing 
but the best holds their trade. — Seminole 
Squab Farm, Florida. 



APPENDIX G 



353 




HOMERS MORE PROFIT 
THAN LARGER BIRDS, by 
Martin L. J. Steele. Two 
years ago I became interested 
in squabs but as I knew noth- 
ing of the care of pigeons I 
began raising them in mind 
only. I spent nearly a year 
studying the question from all 
sides, and last February put in 
my first let of breeders, fifty 
pairs straight Homers. March 
first I bought fifty pairs more. 
This lot consists of Homers, 
Dragoons, Mondaines and two 
pairs Maltese. 

After a careful comparison 
of loft No. 1, Homers, and 
loft No. 2, crosses, I find the 
Homers are the more profit- 
able. 

One item in favor of the 
Homers is feed. For example, 
my fifty pairs Homers are 
doing well on five quarts of 
grain daily, while the fifty 
pairs of crosses take from 
eight to nine quarts. 

The price of squabs in the PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN MONTANA. 

Washington, D. C, market did 

not appeal to me. Three dol- My pigeons are straight Homers raised from some I bought in Bos- 

lars a dozen for nine to ten- ton in 1904. I have a pair which raise squabs from eighteen to 
pound squabs in December did twenty-one ounces at four weeks. They are both_ 1909 birds. I have 
not sound right. So I began a rooster six months old from this pair that weighs 24i ounces, crop 
advertising by using a card empty. — James T. Fisher, Montana. 
headed with a picture of a pair 
of squabs in the nest, and 

reading as follows, the' date and prices being In January, 1910, I bought a few breeders 

written in ink: of you, six pairs of Carneaux. I have a nice 

We are pleased to quote you the following flock of one hundred mated pairs now (October, 
prices on SQUABS for the month of July, 1910: 1911), besides having sold all their produce 

Fresh dressed, per pair $0.75 since last May. I have been getting from 

Feathers on, per pair 65 $4.50 to $6.00 per dozen for them during the 

Live, per pair 60 summer, the town I live near being quite a 

I mail these cards about the first of each summer resort, and I had not breeding stock 
month to a regular list, and to all who have enough to supply the demand. Now the 
not ordered by the middle of the month I send market is over for this season, and I must 
another card. I find it much better to vary look further afield for an outlet. I notice in 
the cut at the head of the card. one of your books that you have requests 

from commission men asking you to send 

„,, ... . , . . T , , . , . them the names of your customers so they 

™ T u ,nnn V l lTS j 1 ch J , §•}, ° f ? 0U ln can keep them posted on the price of squabs. 
March, 1909, have done splendidly. I now Wou i d esteem it a favor if you would advise 
have forty-five pairs working and a few young- some re n a bl e commission houses to furnish 
sters. Have sold a good many, and we have me with quota tions for the different grades 
eaten a great many. I have worked up a of squabs. I am nearer Rochester and Toronto 
fine trade and now sell to the swell clubs in than other j e cities but j suppose distance 
Portland at thirty-five cents each. They will is not much of an obstac i e if reac h the best 
take all I have. Enclosed find an order for market. My squabs will average about nine 
thirteen pairs more of your Extra Homers. poun ds to the dozen.— R. L. Ralls, Ontario. 
If these only do as well as the ones I got 

before, we will be satisfied. We simply can- : would like to buy ten Carneaux hens, as 

not get along without the magazine. It is I have a surplus of cocks on hand and I would 
fine.— Mrs. W. R. Lycan, Oregon. like to mate them up and have them working. 

The birds I have came from your place and I 

If grand opera were fifty cents a ticket find they are very good. I do not want to 
the 400 would not attend. The higher squabs buy the hens from any other, for I do not 
are priced, the more the rich want them, think there are any to be gotten as good as 
always provided the quality is there. yours. — H. D. Marsden, Pennsylvania. 



354 



APPENDIX G 




ALL RAISED FROM ONE PAIR. 

It is just a year ago since I purchased six pairs of the Plymouth 
Rock Extra Homers and I had very successful results. I have at 
present (December 7) fifty mated pairs and have sold just 387 squabs, 
which brought me 1218.50. I find that my expenses were $74.50, which 
leaves a profit of $144. I find that the birds like the wood-fibre 
nappies better than any other sort of a nest. I also find that squabs 
are reared fifty per cent easier than chickens. Enclosed you will 
find picture of birds, seventeen of them, all reared from one pair of 
blue checkers. — George Briggs, Jr., Connecticut. 



HOMERS ARE MOST RE- 
LIABLE FOR SQUABS, by 
Fred Fisher. I have close onto 
two hundred mated pairs of 
Homers. I am selling between 
$35 and $40 worth of squabs 
to San Francisco markets per 
month. Some people here are 
in favor of the Maltese and 
Runt pigeons crossed. To be 
sure they raise a large, fine 
squab, but in the moulting sea- 
son they act like a poor chicken, 
taking from two to three months 
to moult, and at the same time 
they eat their heads off. This 
year in moulting season I did 
not notice it at all with my 
Homers, and shipped just as 
many squabs then each week as 
I am shipping now. The Ho- 
mer is the squab breeder. 

I feed in open troughs twice 
daily, about 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., 
giving each pen enough so they 
will have feed before them all 
the time. I feed my birds dry 
blood once a week with good 
results. I give each pen the 
top of a fruit jar filled with the 
dried blood, and the birds are 
very fond of it. It keeps them 
in good health and sharpens 
their appetites. I feed red 
wheat, kafhr corn, red oats, 
cracked corn, whole barley and 
cracked horse beans. 



Last May I bought one hundred pairs of 
pigeons crossed between a Maltese and Runt, 
bought them at first sight on account of their 
size, but have found out since that they can- 
not deliver the goods like a Homer, and am 
very much dissatisfied with them. Thought 
you might be in a position to let me know 
where I might get rid of them, and if not, 
let me know the best advertising medium. 
They cost me five dollars a pair. As soon as 
I can unload them I will be in the market for 
two hundred pairs of your Plymouth Rock 
Homers. — F. J. Baker, Indiana. 

I am glad to say that the twelve pairs of 
Homers you shipped me in March are doing 
fine and have increaseed to about seventy-five 
pairs (August 20, 1911). — William M. Wilson, 
North Carolina. 



Enclosed find fifty dollars for 
which send me your Special 
Offer No. 5 at the earliest pos- 
sible date, as I have a good 
summer trade here that I can- 
not supply. I want to get the 
birds started as soon as pos- 
sible. You will no doubt par- 
don my delay in acknowledging 
the receipt of your Manual. I 
am positive that any one follow- 
ing your instructions is sure of 
success. If I could not get another book like 
it, you could not buy it for twenty times what 
I paid for it. Every one I have talked with 
has praised your Homers. The marketman told 
me that if I had Homers I could get a better 
price for my squabs. I am now receiving the 
highest market price for mine, which is three 
dollars a dozen, alive. — F. L. Thomas, California. 

We would like to exchange some Carneaux 
raised from the two pairs gotten from you last 
June, with a friend who has some thorough- 
breds but he will want a guarantee that ours 
are the same. Will you send us proof of some 
kind to show him? From the four birds 
gotten just one year ago, we now have thirty- 
four in all, twenty-two of which are mated 
pairs. Don't you think that is doing well? — 
Mrs. J. H. Moynodier, Maryland. 



APPENDIX G 



355 



I SELL SQUABS AT RE- 
TAIL IN MY TOWN, by 
Charles H. Marston. In No- 
vember, 1907, I bought twenty- 
live pairs of Homer pigeons 
and like many others I thought 
that I had a bargain because 
I got them cheap, but there is 
where I learned something. 
They 'had not been well kept 
and did not do a thing all that 
winter but eat, and how they 
did that! It took some time 
to get them filled up, but 
about February 1, 1908, they 
began work and did finely all 
the year, so that at the end of 
that year I found they had paid 
their way and a little more. 

Having weeded out some of 
the drones, I began the year 
1910 with sixty pairs of mated 
birds and at the present time 
of writing (February 26) I 
have fifty-three pairs either 
with young or setting on eggs, 
making me think that the out- 
look for 1910 is pretty good. 

From the very first I have 
been a believer that in every 
community there are some that 
will buy dressed squabs, and 
I have built up quite a trade 
in my town and the adjoining 
towns in this part of Massa- 
chusetts. I am very enthusi- 
astic on squab raising, and am 
satisfied that there is money 
in it. 

The Homers I received from 
you are doing splendidly. I 
have no trouble in getting 
squabs a month old to weigh a 
pound. I have a pair sixteen 
days old weighing fifteen 
ounces. I had a man offer me 
about ninety Homers for $25, 
but I would hardly take them 
as a gift. The best his squabs 
weigh when four weeks old is between nine 
and ten ounces. Thank you for the good birds 
you sent me. — H. J. Read, Ontario. 

Thought you might be interested to know 
how I made out with my Carneaux entries at 
the Suffolk County Fair for 1911 : Solid red, 
first premium; red and white, first, second and 
third premiums; yellow and white, first, second 
and third premiums. All birds raised from 
Plymouth Rock stock. I won as many prizes 
as were allowed on my entries, so I have no 
kick coming. — Cadet H. Hand, New York. 

The eleven pairs of Carneaux I received 
from you last October are doing well. I have 
one hundred and eighty or more birds now 
(September 15, 1911).— Dr. J. W. Cutler, 
California. 




MR. MARSTON AND TRAINED HOMER. 



We stocked up with twenty-five pairs of 
your Extras in 1909. We stocked up with 
Carneaux in 1910. In Carneaux and Homers 
we showed thirteen birds, six pairs and one 
odd bird. We won thirteen ribbons, $12.50 in 
cash at the Virginia State Fair, 1910. — Frank 
W. Danner, Virginia. 

I have been in the squab business raising 
your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and 
Carneaux, but sold out and now I want to 
start in again. I have handled a great many of 
your birds and I have found that they prove 
satisfactory in every respect. — Arthur New- 
comer, Pennsylvania. 

Single men who do not make squabs pay 
should get married and let their wives show 
them how. 



356 



APPENDIX G 




YOU CAN SEE THE WATER IN THIS FOUNTAIN. 



KALE FOR MY BIRDS; FERN BRAKE 
FOR NESTS, by Mrs. W. R. Lycan. I bought 
three pairs of Plymouth Rock Extra Homers 
one year ago and have raised over seventy, 
lost very few. One pair has raised nine pairs 
and is sitting again. This, notwithstanding 
the fact that we have moved during this time 
and had them in a coop for several days and 
have never had a flying pen, just have them 
in an open-front chicken house about ten by 
fourteen feet. How's that? I have not 
arranged my plant as I want it yet. We 
bought us a small place (in Oregon) entirely 
unimproved, and it takes time and money to 
get things going right. 

I feed kafhr corn, cracked corn, wheat, peas, 
stale bread and occasionally sunflower seed. I 
also find they are very fond of nice tender kale. 
Now and then I give them rice. I give_ my 
birds what is called " brake " out here (it is 
a kind of fern and very soft) for nesting material. 
They seem to like it better than straw. 

I have just finished reading your $1.00 
Manual and find it absolutely the best work 
on the care and rearing of squabs that was 
ever written. Mr. Rice deserves much credit 
for the writing of this book. I have a few 
pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers 
and find them far superior in size, weight and 
vigor to any Homers I have ever seen. — R. L. 
Chipman, Washington. 

A good man has good pigeons, and con- 
versely, a tumble-down man with a rickety 
home has pigeons to match. 



HOME-MADE FOUNTAIN, 
by Heyward R. Barret. I am 

sending you a drawing and 
the description of a swinging 
drinking fountain for pigeons 
which I have found to be very 
satisfactory. It can be made 
of a " Buffalo " lithia water 
bottle as well as a whiskey 
jug. As the top of the jug is 
larger than the pan the drop- 
pings can not fall into the water 
from a bird perched on top. 
The one illustrated is made of 
a glass whiskey jug which can 
be obtained most anywhere and 
holds from a gallon up. Cut 
two pieces of wire the same 
length and twist tightly around 
the jug, leaving the ends ex- 
actly opposite one another for 
axles. The pan should be 
about one and one-half inches 
deep, and the jug should be 
suspended one inch above the 
bottom of the pan. By making 
it out of a glass jug you can 
easily see when it is empty. 
Simply turn the jug up and 
fill it and let it drop in position, 
and it will supply water only as 
it is diminished from the drink- 
ing pan. Cost about ten cents. 



Three friends of mine visited me Sunday, 
especially to see your Plymouth Rock Homers, 
and they were surprised to find such large, 
handsome and well marked Homers. My 
Philadelphia Homers are not in the same class 
with yours in any shape, manner or form and 
you can duplicate my order. I like to deal 
with honest, reliable people whom I am con- 
fidently sure are treating their customers 
right. I am going to build another unit to 
my plant this week and so I will be ready to 
put nothing but Plymouth Rock Homers in 
same. It will cost me $J.O for the unit. My 
Philadelphia birds are certainly picking up 
after feeding and watering according to your 
Manual, as I have not lost another squab in 
the shell. One pair brought out three squabs 
and are feeding them in fine shape. This 
same pair of birds lost five pairs of squabs 
in the shell until after I had worked according 
to your Manual. I thank you kindly for the 
fine birds sent me. — Frank J. Lyons, Ohio. 

I have bought health grit of other houses 
nearer home but find my pigeons do not take 
to it like yours. I bought from you twelve 
pairs of Homers and now have nearly one 
hundred and fifty. — William M. Wilson, 
North Carolina. 

I have some of your Plymouth Rock Extra 
Homers, and will say that there is no other 
stock known to me that can even compare 
with them. — John Overbrook, Illinois. 



APPENDIX G 



357 



SQUABS FOR ME IN- 
STEAD OF FANCY POUL- 
TRY, byW.H. Brown. I have 
had a stock of Extra Plymouth 
Rock Homers since January 1, 
and have been saving most of 
my squabsf or breeders. I have 
sold some squabs and received 
thirty-five cents each for them. 
People say my squabs are the 
nicest they have ever seen. I 
have had calls for ten times as 
many squabs as I have raised; 
some one is wanting from two 
to a dozen every day. There 
are squabs to be had here (North 
Carolina), but none like mine. 
They sell for twenty-five cents 
each and weigh about six to 
eight ounces, while my squabs 
weigh twelve to sixteen ounces, 
so you can plainly see why the 
people are after mine. I have 
also had many calls for breed- 
ers, and hope some day to be 
able to fill them. 

I have been raising fancy 
poultry for five years, and I find the pigeons 
have got the chickens skinned a country block. 
They are a great deal less care and more 
profit. The pigeons for me every time. I 
have plenty of room and can raise most of my 
feed, and intend making squabs my business. 

I live two miles out of the city, and have been 
for the last four years with the largest retail 
grocery firm here, and in this way have learned 
all the best people, and how to deal with them. 
I am going to build a new squabhouse soon. 

WHY I PREFER PINE NEEDLES FOR 
NESTS, by H. A. Rice. Nest material is 
indispensable to the squab breeders as well as 
to the chicken, turkey, duck and geese men. 
This we learn as one of our first lessons in the 
handling of all domestic fowls. When it has 
to be bought, we try to get the least expensive 
material, and usually that is the last real 
thought, so we hike after a bale of straw, cut 
it open and spread it out on the floor or in 
crates or nests, so the fowls can get at it. Now, 
everything goes well for a while, but by and 
by the day surely comes that we find the 
chicken and squabhouse is alive, yes, just 
crawling away, and so we have a job on hand. 
Here is the job: Take a pencil and paper and 
count the number of straws you put into the 
house for your birds (sure all fowls have lice 
more or less), count the number of lice eggs and 
lice in each (incubator) straw. Do not use 
straw. It is an incubator, and your birds the 
brooders. I have this winter experimented 
with pine needles, the foliage from pine and 
fir trees. The birds like it equal to the tobacco 
stems. I use alfalfa. The chaff or foliage is 
just the thing for your hens if cleaned and mixed 
with bran. Your pigeons will eat it if mixed 
with salt after it cools. (Do not give the 
salted to the hens, as it is sure death.) On 
page 349, December number of the Squab 




CARNEAUX SQUABS SEVENTEEN OUNCES EACH. 



Magazine Brother Newcomer says he feeds 
cabbage and lettuce as green feed. The 
lettuce is all right, but no cabbage for me. I 
have known of the finest fowls and birds and 
canaries to be killed by feeding cabbage. It 
bloats them just as it does cattle. (I once lost 
in that way, a cow for which I had paid $60 
in gold.) Often people ask me about feeding 
green food, and I always advise against the 
practice. If your birds have their liberty, 
then that is different. 



I notice that oats and barley are not recom- 
mended for pigeons with squabs because the 
sharp points are supposed to cut the thin 
crops of the young. Do you suppose there 
would be any harm in feeding vetches mixed 
with oats? The farmers around here raise 
vetches and oats together, the oats to hold 
the vetches up, and when they are threshed 
together the two grains are mixed. I can 
get this mixture about harvest time quite 
cheap, about $1 to $1.25 a hundred. So if 
I could feed it, I should like to do it. The 
mixture is about two or three times vetches 
to one of oats. I should naturally suppose 
that if I gave the birds plenty of wheat and 
other grain they would have sense (or instinct) 
enough not to feed their squabs anything that 
would hurt them. I have been in the pigeon 
business about three years. Have now about 
140 pairs, mostly Homers, with a sprinkling 
of Runts and Carneaux, all doing nicely. — 
H. Denlinger, Oregon. Vetches are a first- 
class food for pigeons. Feed that mixture by 
all means, if you can get it at that price. 

The breeder who is selling squabs at low 
prices is either ignorant or is himself low- 
priced and can be bought cheap on any proposi- 
tion. 



358 



APPENDIX G 




OSTRICHES AND WHITE HOMERS. 



NO ADVANTAGE IN BREEDING 
CROSSES, by J. Wallace Williams. I do not 

raise any crosses. I believe in improving the 
thoroughbred Plymouth Rock Homers and 
Carneaux. I've never seen the advantage in 
crosses, if there's any. When you breed a 
first-class Carneau to a first-class Homer, 
where's the advantage? You get a freak 
pigeon. Let us improve the thoroughbreds. 
Plymouth Rock Homers for squab breeders 
are hard to beat. I put thirty pairs in each 
pen. Every month in the year you will find 
from sixty to one hundred eggs and squabs 
in each pen. Before writing this article, I 
counted in one pen of thirty pairs, fifty-six 
squabs, twenty-eight eggs and six new nests. 
What's the name of the freak pigeon that will 
come up to that record? 



Squabs well sold are easily raised. 



ARIZONA SQUABS AND 
OSTRICHES, by Francis Sbaw. 

We have twelve hundred Ho- 
mer pigeons here in Arizona. 
We have good birds in Arizona 
and plenty of good fanciers, but 
not many good squab breeders. 
The Salt River Valley can't be 
beat for poultry and pigeon 
climate. Squabs are a side line 
with us as we are in the ostrich 
business, and have over four 
hundred of them on this farm, 
and are now hatching more. 

HOMER SQUABS SELL 
WELL IN MONTANA, by 
James T. Fisher. I have been 
raising pigeons on a city lot, 
and can't enlarge very much. 
I have a good market here. 
(Montana.) I get from thirty- 
five to fifty cents each for all I 
can raise. I have only eighty- 
one pairs of breeders, from 
which I sold thirty-nine squabs 
in December and forty-two in 
January. I also have one hun- 
dred and twenty young, which 
are mating up now. The 
smallest squab I raised in the 
last three months weighed 
eleven ounces. There were 
only two under twelve ounces. 
They will average thirteen and 
fourteen ounces dressed. I 
hp,ve one (a Homer) that 
weighed twenty-two ounces 
alive at four weeks. This is 
the largest I have ever raised. 
I have raised several that 
weighed eighteen and nineteen 
ounces. I bought my stock of 
Homers in 1904 from the 
Plymouth Rock Squab Com- 
pany. I feed mostly wheat, 
whole corn, millet and hemp- 
seed. I mix salt, grit, charcoal 
and a little alum together and 
keep before them all the time. I bum and 
grind bones for them in place of oyster 
shell. I clean my houses every week and 
spray with carbolic every other week. I have 
lost but one squab in three months with canker. 

The eight pigeons I bought of you nearly 
three years ago have increased greatly. _ I 
have 214 mated pairs and I am making a nice 
profit on them. — Ward Edwards, Texas. 

Percy Perkins likes to write letters asking 
for information about his pigeons. It takes 
more time than studying the birds, but he gets 
a splendid collection of opinions. 

Pigeons for breeding or squabs for eating 
cannot be sold by advertising where nobody 
exists. Get into the marketplace, not the 
cemetery. 



APPENDIX G 



359 



HOW TO BLEED SQUABS 
NEATLY, QUICKLY, by W. E. 
Blakslee. When killing squabs, 
this device will be found useful. 
It is a rack of funnels made of 
tin, open at top and bottom. 
Hold the squab in the . eft hand, 
stick it with the killing knife 
and put it in one of the funnels, 
head hanging down through the 
lower hole. The object is to 
drain out the blood. This does 
away with the necessity of hang- 
ing the feet from a string, and 
prevents spattering of blood. 
The live squab may be put in 
the funnel head down and out 
and then stuck, if preferred. 
This is the method used in 
Europe by the quail market- 
men. These quail are caught 
in Egypt in nets and trans- 
ported alive to London, where 
they are fattened for a few days 
and then killed. All of the 
marketmen have the same 
method of using this rack of 
funnels, their racks being from 
eight to ten feet long. London 
consumes these quail by the 
hundreds of thousands. The 
traffic is an old one and this 
funnel method of bleeding is 
thoroughly practical, needed by 
fast workmen. 

HOW CLEVELAND SQUAB 
PRICES WENT UP, by Mrs. 
Carl Moeller. From December 
31, 1909, to December 31, 1910, 
our thirty pairs of breeders aver- 
aged eight pairs of squabs. No 
pair went below fourteen squabs 
and one or two pairs had the 
first pair of eggs December 31 , 
1909, and the tenth pair of eggs 
December 31, 1910. As these 
were Homers, it seems very 
good to us. This average is of 
squabs sold or raised to maturity. Others do 
not count. One year ago this month, nine- 
pound squabs, alive or dressed, were bring- 
ing at the most two dollars a dozen. Whole- 
salers in Cleveland were actually insulted if 
you asked them to buy by weight. They sim- 
ply refused to talk business if you mentioned 
price and weight together. Five-and-six-pound- 
per-dozen squabs brought just as good a price 
as the larger ones. In March, 1910, prices be- 
gan to go up. We found a dealer who knew a 
good squab from a cull and would pay by 
weight. We sell all our squabs to this one 
dealer and receive a steady price the year 
around. At wholesale nine and ten-pound 
squabs are now bringing $3.00 and $3.50 a 
dozen dressed. They may go to $4.50. Cleve- 
land is fast creating an appetite for squabs and 
all we need to make things boom is a union of 
all squab breeders in and around Cleveland, 




FUNNELS TO BLEED SQUABS. 

How to cut the tin, make seam and bend, 
each funnel to board. 



One wire nail fastens 



and then some good live advertising that 
greater Cleveland may know what squabs 
are, where to get them and how to eat 
them. 

About two years ago I purchased three pairs 
of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and 
two pairs alone have increased to about fifty- 
five by now (the other pair having flown away 
when I released them about three months after 
I received them). I am very enthusiastic 
about the raising of squabs and in order to 
have even pairs and also to introduce new 
blood, I wish to purchase about ten females. 
My males have increased more than the 
females so that I need about this many to even 
up. I desire the Extras. At present I am 
enlarging my unit house and in the near future 
expect to increase my flock to at least five 
hundred pairs. — W. M. James, Ohio. 



360 



APPENDIX G 




MALE AND FEMALE PIGEON BILLING, OR KISSING 



HOW I LEARNED TRUE CALIFORNIA 
PRICES, by Stefan Schwarz. In the leading 
San Francisco daily papers, squabs are quoted 
at $2 and $3 a dozen at present (May 29, 
1911). Everybody knows that squabs are 
numerous at this time of year, and that com- 
petition is active. Circumstances did not 
encourage me. Anyway I did not expect a 
very ready demand, or good prices either. 
I am breeding a flock of several hundred pairs 
of Plymouth Rock Extra Homers. 

I asked my grain man for the address of a 
commission house, and he sent me to a big 
one of first-class reputation. Who can describe 
my great surprise as one of the members of 
the firm told me : " I will take all the squabs 
that you will ship to me and I am ready to make 
a contract with you for one thousand dozen 
squabs a year, for which I will pay you $3.50 
for Homer squabs weighing ten to twelve 
pounds, and $4.50 for Carneaux squabs weigh- 
ing fourteen to sixteen pounds." 

It is a puzzle to me how my fellow squab 
raisers in California can afford to go so much 
below these quotations just mentioned, unless 
they ship squabs which weigh considerably 
less, or are fooled by the newspaper quotations, 
as I nearly was. 

Squab buyers must buy squabs. Squab 
breeders alone can furnish squabs. It is the 
business of the seller and not the buyer to 
make the price. 



HOW I LEARNED TO GET 
GOOD PRICES, by A. J. 

McCauley. I sold all of the 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homer 
squabs I raised in eleven months 
to a marketman in St. Louis, 
Mo., for prices ranging from 
$3.25 to $4.80 a dozen. I 
started in to ship to the market 
people in December, 1909, and 
until January 21,1910, received 
$3.60 a dozen; from then until 
February 25 I succeeded in get- 
ting $4.20 a dozen. I again 
wrote them to advance the 
price as I had been offered 
more elsewhere. The price was 
then advanced to $4.80 a dozen. 
This price lasted until April 1C. 
when they tumbled to $4.50 a 
dozen, then in the same month 
they cut them to $4. In May 
they cut them to $3.60. In 
June they cut them to $3.50. 
From July until November, 
when I quit shipping to them, 
I was getting only $3.25. At 
this time I wrote them to know 
if it wasn't about time for 
squabs to start to advance in 
price. The answer I got was 
quite an eye opener for me, for 
they said that they had been 
putting squabs in cold storage 
all summer and that they had 
quite a lot of birds on hand that 
they had bought reasonable and consequently 
could not pay any more for them just at that 
time. I at once got busy with other buyers 
in Chicago where I received $4 for eight-pound 
squabs and $4.25 for nine-pound birds. At 
present I am shipping my birds alive for _ $4 
a dozen to a place near Chicago. I am putting 
forth every effort to be able to gather a lot of 
squabs through the months of February and 
March, when I hope to get $4.80 or $5 a dozen; 
then I expect to be able to ship squabs by the 
barrel next summer and will either ship East 
or store them until the prices advance. 

Some people are dead set against whole corn 
because it is so big, and claim it chokes the 
squabs, but I notice when I feed cracked corn 
and whole corn together, they always pick out 
the whole corn. The females seem to like it 
when they are on eggs especially. One reason 
I feed whole corn is because the cracked corn 
gets sour in the least dampness, and soon I see 
sick birds. A breeder about two miles from 
my place buys squabs and he told me the other 
day that he got $4.50 per dozen himself. I 
went down a few weeks after and he offered 
to buy fairly good squabs at thirty cents each, 
or $3.60 per dozen, netting him a profit of 
ninety cents on every dozen. I take the maga- 
zine and it certainly is a beauty.— P. E. Foster, 
Massachusetts. 

All squabs are good, but some are better. 



APPENDIX G 



361 



HUNGRY CALL FOR 
SQUABS IN MONTANA, by 
W. M. Safley. We started in 
the squab business in May, 
1908, with two hundred of Ply- 
mouth Rock Extra Homers. 
We have sold squabs most of 
the time since, but have saved 
four hundred, of which about 
two hundred and fifty are at 
work. We have sold about 
forty-five dozen squabs since 
June 1, 1909. There is no 
trouble about the market here 
in Montana. We have quarters 
for one thousand birds and ex- 
pect soon to fill the houses. I 
am in the business to stay. We 
are at present getting $3.50 per 
dozen for squabs unsorted, 
plucked, F. O. B. We ship to 
Helena, only thirty-three miles, 
so have never used ice to pack 
in. We use peach crates mostly, 
packing two dozen in a crate, 
but will use the corrugated 
boxes as soon as we can. The 
young shoots of grease wood 
are our nest material. 




EFFECT OF MONTANA APRIL SNOW. 



Four pens after 
melted before noon. 



a snow on April 13, 1909. The snow was all 
Photograph from W. M. Safley. 



HOW THE MARKET RUNS AFTER 
SQUABS, by John E. Gilbert. About six 
years ago I began to look into the squab busi- 
ness from a straight business viewpoint. All 
I knew about the business was what I read 
and after reading I got to thinking. I first 
wondered whether I could sell all the squabs 
1 raised. I often had read about the large 
hotels using thousands of squabs a week, so 
I ventured to go to several hotels in Philadel- 
phia, the Belle vae-Stratford, Bingham and 
Walton, and each chef in charge told me he 
could use all the squabs I could bring him, 
but they had to be prime, large ones. There 
was an old breeder who served the Bingham 
Hotel regularly every week, but with hotels 
you must have quantity as well as quality. 

As an ordinary person cannot comprehend 
the demand for squabs I will say that when 
hotels and other large institutions cannot be 
supplied by the breeder himself, they turn to 
the commission meri, who "'.eve hundreds of 
shipments daily from all parts of the country 
within a radius of five hundred miles. Com- 
mission men tak. ~ny quantity, small or large, 
and can be better -elied upon by the hotels 
because of the larg= army of squab breeding 
shippers pouring squabs into one firm. If a 
breeder cared, he could increase his flock 
large enough to supply the trade direct, and 
make a good deal more on his squabs. 

Every person wiuiout doubt has wondered 
whether he really could sell the squabs he 
could raise, and whether there really is a big 
demand for squabs. It is positively a truthful 
fact that the demand for squabs is equal in 
some sections to the demand for eggs, although 
this may not seem so to many, when you think 
how many people eat eggs. You never have 



heard of squabs being seized from dealers 
by the United States food experts and destroyed 
as you have very often heard about eggs. 
The fact is, there is at times an over-production 
of eggs. The demand for squabs everywhere 
cannot at present be supplied, and will not 
be supplied for some years to come. 

In many localities it is not necessary to 
ship squabs now, as commission men have 
buyers in all parts of the country to take the 
squabs right at your place, and pay you cash. 
There is more competition in buying squabs 
than one would imagine, as each dealer has 
his trade to supply and must have the squabs. 
When commission men will send out their 
men to visit the squab plants to get the goods 
direct, and have your assurance that you will 
let them have your squabs, this should be 
confidence enough to cause any one to enter 
the squab business. 

HOW TO KNIFE A SQUAB WITHOUT 
PAIN, by F. J. Bunce. In killing squabs, by 
inserting the knife well back in the throat, 
the picker will come in contact with a little, 
hard lump, which is the brain cell. The knife 
should be drawn sharply through the brain 
and up toward the point of the bill. 

It is always possible to tell if the sticking 
has been done properly. If it has, a con- 
vulsive shudder will pass over the bird, the 
wings draw back and the eyes become set, 
but if the bird continues to kick and gasp for 
breath, the sticking has not been done cor- 
rectly. If the sticking is right, the bird should 
be perfectly dead in two minutes. If the 
bird does not die as fast as the picker thinks 
it should, another ovtiek incision should be 
made. This as a ,-::/ atA\ be sufficient. 



362 



APPENDIX G 




MR. TROXEL'S SQUAB KILLING CHUTE, 



I CAN SELL 100 DOZEN DAILY IN 
OREGON, by Louis A. Hart. The squab 
market here is quoted in the papers at $2.50 
per dozen, but I just ignore that price and go 
to Mr. Hotel Man and engage my pound birds 
at $5.50 and the nine pound to the dozen birds 
at $4.50. I find the market firm and demand, 
well, say, I guess I could sell one hundred 
dozen every day if I only had them Only 
you who are near New York city can appreciate 
the position that I am in, for it surely looks 
good to me. The staple grain is wheat, al- 
though some corn and barley are raised. I 
am located close to a broom factory, so for 
nesting material I use the refuse broom straws, 
with all the dead twigs I can find. 

HOW I TEST EGGS THROUGH A STRAW 
HAT, by H. A. Davis. For an egg tester, I 
use a straw hat draped with black cloth that 
draws together with a string at the _ bottom 
around my shoulders. This is practically a 
small dark room for one's head, except for a 
small hole opposite the eye through which the 
egg to be tested is seen when held to the light. 
The egg is held close to the hole to shut out 
all light, and it is surprising how easy it is 
to tell whether the egg is fertile or not. When 
we pass through the pen to test, we glance 
at the date the egg should hatch, and reckon 
back ten days. Thus we are testing an egg 
about eight days old, and we have gained 
more than ten days more than once, by testing, 
which only takes a few minutes. We like 
to record on the sticker the date the egg should 
hatch rather than the date it was laid. We 
find cur birds will drink from the bathpan 
but since we have whitewashed the bathpans 
once a week in summer, their bowels are in 
better condition than before. We put a piece 
of rock lime about the size of a hickory nut 
in each drinking fountain also. 



EXPERT TELLS HOW TO 
KILL AND PLUCK, by Clinton 
L. Troxel. Being a poultry 
dresser long enough to dress 
more than forty thousand chick- 
ens, I willgive you a goodidea 
how to dry-pick squabs. They 
look better than when scalded. 
It is also much quicker. One 
can be killed, dressed and 
QZ? ,,«.. =SP * drawn in less than five min- 
'// ! O : \H utes. I dress them upon a 
barrel. (This is fixed in a man- 
ner known to poultry dressers 
as a chute.) The way it is 
made is to take a barrel and 
place it upon a box one foot 
high. This makes the barrel 
the right height. Place another 
box, which may be about two 
feet square, with the top, bot- 
tom and end removed, upon the 
barrel. This leaves the re- 
maining three sides to form a 
shield around your squab , which 
keeps the feathers from drop- 
ping upon the floor. . They 
will drop into the barrel, where they can be 
saved, then sold. 

Over the center of the barrel is a board eight 
inches wide, which is used to lay the squab upon 
while dressing. This board is padded so as 
not to bruise the squab. At far end of the 
board is a hole two inches round. Below this 
hole a cup is placed so that the blood cannot 
drop upon the feathers. At the other side 
of the hole a sharp hook is set. 

Place the bill over the hook, hold the feet, 
and tip the wings in the lett hand. Insert a 
sharp-pointed knife in front of the eye, upward 
into the brain. Bleed from the side of the 
throat; sticking in this way causes the squab 
to give up its feathers more easily, and at same 
time it also loses its feeling. 

One would be surprised to see how quickly 
and easily a squab can be dressed. The tail, 
wings, entrails and head can be placed in a pail 
which hangs near. 

In front right-hand comer, a small shelf is 
used to support a lamp for night work. In 
front left-hand corner is another shelf upon 
which is a cup of water in which to moisten the 
fingers. 

After dressing, draw and remove the head, 
singe and put into pan of cold water for four or 
five hours. Add pinch of salt to the water. 

I have no trouble in disposing of my squabs 
after dressing like above. We find in this 
locality, with prices high on feed, that it costs 
$1.25 per pair per year. Our birds average 
about five pairs squabs per year. We get 
twenty-five cents each alive for them. This 
gives us a profit of $1.25 on each pair a year 
after paying above amount for feed. 

Did you ever see a drunken pigeon raiser? 
Rum and squabs don't mix. There is no such 
thing as a squab plant with a whiskey bottle 
hid in the grain bin. 



APPENDIX G 



363 



HOSPITAL, CLUB, FAMI- 
LIES, $3.50 DOZEN, by West- 
ley O'Harra. I have never 
shipped any squabs as I have 
hard work supplying the home 
market (Ohio). We have a large 
new private hospital, which 
takes five dozen a week. The 
first club of the city takes ten 
or twelve dozen just as I hap- 
pen to have them. Then with 
the family trade I can dispose 
of all and more than I can sup- 
ply. I am thinking of enlarg- 
ing my plant soon. I get $3.53 
a dozen the year round without 
sorting, feather dressed. 

I do not believe in starting 
with a small number and breed 
ing up your own flock. I tried 
that for a year without selling 
any squabs, then bought a large 
flock of Extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers and began to get re- 
sults. One thing I accomplished that first year 
was proper feeding, which I wish to say is the 
most essential point to the best results in this 
business. Do not be afraid to give them plenty 
to eat. I use the self-feeders, which I keep 
filled with plenty of cracked corn and red 
wheat. I have always had good results with 
these boxes. If any feedbox is not successful, 
it generally is due to the fact that it is not 
kept free of the dust which accumulates in 
the slit where the grain falls through. I sift 
all of my corn and wheat and clean my feed 
boxes once a week, give my birds plenty of 
good, fresh drinking water, with bath water 
twice a week. I have found that straw is a 
good lice producer and that the only way to 
stop the lice is to use tobacco stems for nest 
material. 

HOW TO HANDLE TWO KINDS OF 
BUYERS, by Arthur S. Burlingame. Selling 
squabs direct to consumers no doubt will bring 
in the most money, but all people cannot look 
after a retail trade, as it takes considerably 
more time. One can get good prices, however, 
by grading his squabs according to weight. 
A breeder of squabs ought to have a price for 
his birds in proportion to their weight by the 
dozen. A squab that weighs a pound surely 
ought to be worth more than one weighing 
twelve ounces. I have about forty pairs of 
Plymouth Rock Homers and very often get 
squabs that weigh sixteen to twenty ounces 
each, and never have had any less than twelve 
ounces at four weeks old. When I started to 
sell my squabs, I sold them to a large market 
and received twenty-five cents each, and 
sometimes thirty cents, according to their 
supply and demand. I tried to get more 
for the larger ones, but they would not pay 
any more. They told me a squab was a squab, 
and that they sold them all for the same price. 
They had them marked on the poultry counter 
at forty-five cents each. Not satisfied with 
these prices, I looked around and found a 




MR. O'HARRA'S SQUAB FARM. 



smaller market that sold to a more particular 
trade , and this one wanted squabs that weighed 
twelve or thirteen pounds to the dozen. For 
the first lot I took there I received thirty-five 
cents each, and have worked the price up to 
forty cents. I think they sell them to their' 
trade at about fifty-five or sixty cents each. 
This still left me the ten and eleven-pounds- 
to-the-dozen birds, which are very good sizes. 
I went to a good hotel and asked if they used 
squabs, and they said they used them all the 
year and would like any that I might bring in, 
provided they weighed from ten to eleven 
pounds to the dozen, just the ones I wanted 
to sell. I quoted thirty-five cents each, and 
they were willing to pay that. They list on 
their menu, " Native Squab 75c." I simply 
have to kill the birds. I made a machine 
according to instructions in Rice's Manual 
and it is all right. I catch the squabs after 
dark and kill them in the morning and let 
them hang in a cool place and take them to 
market the next morning. I would rather 
kill a dozen or more squabs than to kill one 
chicken. It is much more simple and very 
much cleaner. 

My squabs weighing from nine to ten pounds 
I turn into the first market at $3 to $3.60 a 
dozen. They seem satisfied and I am. 

Don't sell ycur largest birds in the same lot 
with the smallest sizes, unless they pay you 
more. You can find several places where 
the trade calls for the smaller sizes, and others 
who want the better birds. You can keep 
all satisfied and hold their trade. I would 
not put in the large birds (in case your pur- 
chaser of that size was overstocked) with the 
smaller ones. If you do, they will expect to 
get them all the time. Eat them yourself. 

I have not found much of a demand for 
squabs weighing from one and a half to two 
pounds. 

Always make your deals with the owner of 
the place; he is the man. Show him what you 
have and he will appreciate qualitv. 



304 



APPENDIX G 




RED CARNEAU. SPLASHED CARNEAU. 



HOW TO PATCH AND HATCH BROKEN 
EGGS, by M. C. Martin. One who deals in 
high-priced pigeons can by hatching out the 
broken eggs save many dollars. Infertile 
eggs should be saved for patching the cracked 
or broken eggs. In warm weather place these 
in a small box in the squabhouse. In the winter 
keep some "fresh" infertile eggs where they 
will not freeze, and whenever you find a " good" 
egg that is cracked or broken, select an infertile 
egg of similar size. If the egg is broken on 
an end, take an end half of the infertile egg and 
place it over the egg to be patched, and if the 
fit is a good one put the egg back in the nest 
and as soon as the shell lining is dry, it will 
fit like glue to the " good " egg. If an egg 
is broken on the side, break the shell of the 
infertile egg lengthwise and patch the egg as 
above directed. 

Unless a good round, sound shell covers the 
egg, the two will roll together in the nest and 
the broken or "dented" shell will soon be 
broken in by the other egg, hence the reason 
for patching the egg. Of course if the mem- 
brane of the egg is broken, there is no remedy, 
but this is very seldom the case, and the 
patching can be done very quickly as this is a 
very simple method. 

I have a flock of 175 Homers and am getting 
$4 a dozen for my squabs. I ship them to 
Charlotte. — J. Paul Leonard, North Carolina. 



HOW A PRACTICAL IOWA 
PLANT IS RUN, by P. P. 
French, M.D. From what ex- 
perience I have had with a 
number of different varieties of 
pigeons, it is my opinion that a 
good Homer is hard to beat for 
squab purposes. By keeping 
our birds in large pens, it reduces 
the labor of taking care of them 
to a minirnurn. We try to keep 
the flock as nearly mated as 
possible. We know they were 
mated in the first place, and 
when an old bird dies it is an 
easy matter to break it open 
and see whether it is a male or 
female and then replace it from 
our small pen with one of the 
same sex. That method comes 
the nearest to keeping a flock 
mated of any I know, keeping 
the birds in large pens as we 
do, and while it is not a perfect 
method, I consider it good 
enough for all practical pur- 
poses, and does away with a lot 
of time spent in banding, num- 
bering and recording. I tried 
that method when I first started 
in the business, but soon gave 
it up and adopted the other 
method, and have been just as 
well satisfied with the results. 
Again by keeping a large num- 
ber of birds in a pen it is pos- 
sible for one man to take care 
of ten thousand birds, except picking the squabs, 
and I believe in having the same man take 
care of the birds all the time if possible, because 
they very much object to having strangers 
around. 

Regarding prices I can say that we ship our 
squabs to Chicago, and last year (1910) they 
averaged us thirty-two cents apiece net the 
year round, leaving us a profit of over a dollar 
a pair for our flock, and by that I mean all 
expenses for feed, etc., except the work. 

I go to Chicago in the spring and fall and 
sell our entire output of squabs for the suc- 
ceeding six months at a contract price, and by 
so doing we know just where we are at all the 
time, and do not have to feel that we are 
getting stung by sharp buyers, as the element 
of doubt is removed. 

I am getting for squabs dressed: 1 pound, 
$6.00 per dozen; 14 ounces, $5.50 per dozen; 
12 ounces, $5.00 per dozen; 10 ounces, $4.50 
per dozen. I sell nothing less than ten ounces 
and have fair luck with my birds, my prices and 
squabs. My squabs advertise themselves. — 
Albert H. Gerling, Illinois. 

Question: Do you believe in pulling out 
the tail feathers of young pigeons, to help 
them grow? Answer: No, it is unsightly, and 
unnecessary. Let Nature attend to this mat- 
ter in her own way. 



APPENDIX G 



3fi5 



GOOD SQUABS SHOULD 
BE SHIPPED RIGHT, by B. 

F. Babcock. Shipment of Sep- 
tember 23, 1909. 
4 dozen 10-pound squabs. .$2.13 
2 dozen 9-pound squabs. . 7.00 
J dozen 8-pound squabs. . 1.40 
$10.53 

The above is a statement of 
a shipment of Plymouth Rock 
Homer squabs that I have made 
lately to a New York commis- 
sion merchant and shows the 
actual cash received by me. 
The following is a copy of part 
of the letter received from the 
commission merchant, under 
shipment of October 14: 

" We received from you this 
week a shipment of squabs for 
which we are enclosing check 
and account sales. Your birds 
were very fine and hope that 
you will continue to send us 
your output." 

In making the above two ship- 
ments no pick of birds was made , 
taking the birds of killable age 
from each pen. But in the fol- 
lowing matters I was particular 
(and it is the only way to be a 
successful shipper): 

A clean box, clean paper, 
clean ice, clean birds, clean 
mouths, and clean feet, and to 
make the shipment more at- 
tractive when the box is opened, 
is to wrap the heads in tissue 
paper. No one will ever regret 
following the above particulars. 
I have a nice printed card which 
is tacked on the lid of the box. 

ENORMOUS DEMAND 
NOW IN CALIFORNIA, by 
William J. Reid. I have made 
a canvass of the local market 
conditions and find the following 
state of affairs: Several commis- 
sion men inform me that they 
cannot supply the demand, par- 
ticularly during the last year; 
that small, common squabs, " rejects," weigh- 
ing six and seven pounds, find ready sale at 
$3.50 and $4.00 a dozen; that Homers are very 
scarce, those that can be obtained being easily 
disposed of at $4.50 and $5.50 a dozen, alive. 
From these figures the commission men deduct 
eight per cent for handling. In Oakland, I 
bought a pair of dressed Homer squabs, 
medium sized, for which I paid $1.30. Broiled, 
they were enjoyed very much by Mrs. Reid 
and myself. The marketman stated that he 
can handle all the choice Homers brought to 
him, at good prices, according to weight; 
would pay $4.50 and $5.50 a dozen. At the 
California Market (retail) the poultryman told 
me he would pay $4.50 a dozen for all the 




A PIGEON AND TWO BUNCHES OF SQUABS. 



Homer squabs I could bring him, regardless 
of weight. All the dealers agree that this is 
not a temporary condition , but that the demand 
is increasing faster than the supply, and it 
seems to me that the forthcoming World's 
Fair will not hurt the business. 

A year and a half ago I purchased from the 
Plymouth Rock Squab Co. eight pairs of 
Carneaux. I now (June, 1911) have over 
1 three hundred of all ages, of which some eighty 
pairs are mated. — Percy A. Bath, Ontario. 

The difference between success and failure 
in the squab business is the difference between 
work and hot air. 



366 



APPENDIX 




o a 



§ | 

•a 

3 9 

§1 



^ -i 

I— i GO 

|I 
8 1 



APPENDIX G 



367 



HOW TO PUSH AND HOW 
TO COOK SQUABS, by Fred 

M . Parkeson. I have seen peo- 
ple pay seventy-five and eighty 
cents for a chicken in the mar- 
kets here that could not begin 
to furnish as much meat as a 
pair of my four-weeks-old Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers, not men- 
• - : ng the difference in the 
qua., y of the meat. Yet if you 
or i asked them why they did 
not try the squabs instead of 
the chicken they would say: 
" Well, I don't know how to 
cook them." I dare say that 
every eight out of ten house- 
keepers in this State have never 
cooked a squab. Now the ques- 
tion arises, why? I can answer 
it. Every morning excepting 
Sundays there are pedlars going 
frorr house to house here in San 
Francisco selling fruits, vege- 
tables, rabbits, eggs, butter and 
even live chickens. But I have 
yet to see for the first time any 
one going to the homes to sell 
squabs. There seems to be a 
mistaken idea that the working 
class of people cannot afford to 
buy squabs, and that squabs 
are for the rich only, but such 
is not the case, as can easily 
be proven by the way that the 
working class buys other high- 
priced articles of food in genera). 
I wish that I were so situated 
that I could put in a stock of five hundred 
pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers, I would not 
hesitate so far as paying me a nice profit is 
concerned. I wish to offer a recipe for cooking 
squabs. This recipe has been prepared exclu- 
sively by Mr. Victor Hirtzler, chef of the St. 
Francis Hotel, San Francisco, California: 

Squab en Casserole 

Squab, or a small bird of any kind, is very 
good cooked in a casserole. Have the squab 
cleaned, then dust ever so lightly with flour and 
put into the casserole with a piece of butter the 
size of an egg. Cook for twenty minutes, then 
add one small tender onion, cut fine, three or 
four mushrooms and a little chopped celery 
which has been parboiled in salted water. Let 
this bake together for ten minutes then add 
half a cup of strained brown gravy and two 
spoonfuls of sherry. Let simmer for ten 
minutes until the squab is tender. It should 
be very tender when done. Place a napkin 
neatly about your baking di?h and serve hot. 
Brown gravy is made by browning two spoon- 
fuls of butter in an iron pan until it is at an 
even color. Stir all the time. Then add two 
cups of hot water and a spoonful of beet 
extract and simmer for half an hour. Salt and 
stram. You will find this to be one of the 
most delicious dishes you ever tasted. 




PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN TEXAS. 
The two marked with an X are a prize pair of silvers. 



TRY ROASTED SQUABS LIKE THIS. 

Prepare much the same as you would chickens. 
Scald, pluck and clean, tie their wings against 
the body, place in baking pan on backs, put 
quarter-inch hot water in pan, place on bottom 
of hot oven and cook slowly thirty minutes, 
then baste and put another baking pan over 
them and put on grate in oven for one hour, 
basting occasionally while cooking. Remem- 
ber a slow fire is better than a hot one, and the 
oftener basted the better, but do not cool 
oven opening too frequently. Cooked in this 
way, you have a dish fit for kings. None of 
the thin parts are burned and bitter. The 
flesh leaves the bones freely. The wings, legs 
and small muscles on the back are all good, 
delicious. After trying them this way, you 
will find you can afford them much oftener 
than you thought you could, as there is more 
meat on the legs, wings and thin parts than 
you ever thought there was, when served 
broiled. Avoid squabs of the common pigeon. 
Secure good, fat, genuine Plymouth Rock 
squabs and prepare as above, and you will 
always want more and consider them cheap 
at any price. 

I started three years ago with thirty-six Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers. I have now nineteen 
units on Mr. Rice's plan, and have between 1200 
and 1500 birds.— W. C. Hyer, South Carolina. 



368 



APPENDIX G 




BACK YARD SQUAB BREEDING. ' 

Showing that squabhouses in the rear of a city home may be 
made attractive and interesting. A very satisfactory business of 
considerable magnitude has been built up here. For particulars, see 
the accompanying article. 



WHAT WE HAVE DONE WITH SIX 
PAIRS, by Columbus Nelson. We started 
here in the State of Washington two years ago 
with six pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers. 
From these we now have over two hundred 
mated pairs of breeders. We sell the squabs 
in Anacortes at a good figure. Besides saving 
a number of pairs of breeders during March, 
over $20 worth of squabs were sold to local 
fanciers and eager consumers. Ours is the 
only plant of the kind, so far as we know, in 
Skagit County. In connection with squabs, 
my wife and I make a specialty of thorough- 
bred buff and white Orpingtons and Pekin 
ducks. We expect to enlarge our plant to two 
thousand mated pairs of Homers, and then will 
devote our entire time and our five-acre tract 
to the raising of squabs for the city markets. 
We declare, after much work, careful study 
and experiment, that the business will be a 
complete success. 

To break up floor nesting, first let the male 
and female build the nest and as soon as she 
has laid the first egg, take her and her egg 
and nest and put her in a nestbox. Put on 
a wire door so she cannot get out. The door 
must be taken away at night, so she will not 
see you. You will not have any more trouble 
with them. I have been raising pigeons since 
September, 1908, and have one hundred pairs 
of Homers and Carneaux. I send my squabs 
to New York, where I receive the top price. — 
Walter Hudson, Connecticut. 



HOW I PUSH SQUABS 
ALONG IN TACOMA, by 
Adam Sossong. I started with 
one dozen common pigeons 
about two years ago to see how 
it would pay raising squabs for 
market. I raised one dozen 
squabs from the commons, took 
them to the Tacoma Hotel. 
The first question asked was, 
are they Homer squabs? I had 
to tell him, no. The answer he 
gave me was to get Homers and 
he would buy the iquabs at all 
times. So I came to think that 
I would sell the commons and 
buy Homers. I bought two 
dozen. As soon as I glanced 
over Mr. Rice's Manual, I saw 
some mistakes on my coops and 
nests. I took the book, read it 
over carefully and followed his 
directions up to the mark. I 
did not have any more trouble 
selling my squabs, and got more 
customers in a short time. At 
present I have four hundred 
pairs of Homer squab breeders, 
which are doing their best and 
raising fine squabs. I do all my 
selling to hotels and high-class 
fraternity clubs. My squab- 
houses are in my back yard. (See 
photograph.) I praise soaked, 
wheat bread which I give to 
my birds twice a week, all that they will eat, 
and green vegetables such as lettuce, clover and 
cabbage. I will give you the prices on all 
the feed. Wheat is $2.35, peas $4, kaffir corn 
$3.50, millet $3, scratch food $2.35, hemp $7, 
flaxseed $4, buckwheat $6. 

The prices for squabs are from $3.75 to 
$4.50; if you supply good squabs, you get top 
prices, for there is always a big demand. 
There are lots of markets here that would buy 
squabs if they could get them and enough of 
them to keep the trade. I don't bother with 
any markets. I have my steady weekly cus- 
tomers. I dress all my squabs and get top 
prices. I get letters from Seattle for squabs 
so I am not worried about not having a sale. 
I am going to get a few acres next fall and 
then I will put in a large stock of breeders. 
The more Tacoma is growing the better squab 
sales there will be. Take my advice and get 
interested in raising squabs. 

I was troubled by three and four weeks old 
squabs leaving the nests, especially those close 
to floor. I have begun to wire each in with 
two-inch poultry wire, tacking a six-inch piece 
of lath on to the front for a perch, so that par- 
ents may alight there and feed them through 
the wire. Most parents feed them O. K. I 
have had a few that seemed to be allowed to 
starve to death. — E. S. Riggs, Missouri. 

Keep your squabhouses clean, and neat 
looking; that is, if you wish to interest visitors. 



APPENDIX G 



369 



FROM AFLAT TO SQUABS 
IN THE COUNTRY, by Laura 
A. Pierson. A year ago I be- 
came interested in the subject 
of squab raising through a mag- 
azine article, and determined to 
inform myself with a view to 
engaging in the business. I 
accordingly sent for the " Na- 
tional Standard Squab Book " 
and read it through. At that 
time we were living in a sub- 
urban flat, but contemplated 
moving to our present location, 
which we did in the spring of 
1909. 

There is a barn on the lot, 
the loft of which we fixed for 
pigeons, the lower floor for 
chickens. We built flies to the 
south and have a nice chicken- 
run to the east. The chickens 
are simply to supply our own 
table, although we have a sur- 
plus of eggs, and have enjoyed 
the sale of some at the extremely 
high prices the past winter. The 
flock of pigeons we intend to 
increase as rapidly as possible 
and concentrate on as a busi- 
ness. 

Last August we received thir- 
teen pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Extra Homers. The birds set- 
tled down very promptly and 
have worked well. We now feel 
that we are sufficiently experi- 
enced to handle a larger flock 
and are fixing our quarters for. 
more birds. We have ordered 
one hundred pairs more. 

WHAT I AM DOING WITH 
A SMALL FLOCK, by Walter 
Sieverling. Six months ago I 
ordered three pairs of Plymouth 
Rock Extra Homers. _ They ar- 
rived in good condition and in 
a week they had eggs. I fed 
them the best that could be 
bought and they repaid me with 
fine, big, fat squabs. It was 
very funny to see them claim 
their nests. I had other Homers 
in the house at the time but in 
the end the new Homers were 
the winners. They were larger 
and could handle my birds like babies. I 
have nine pairs working now and in May I 
had nine pairs of eggs in the nests. The day 
the first pair hatched out the last pair laid 
their eggs. They all hatched and I had eigh- 
teen squabs all of good size. The largest I 
had was a pair of red checks which weighed, 
one twenty ounces, and the other twenty-two. 

In order to raise good-sized birds, cull your 
squabs when they leave the nest and after they 
develop. 




NOTE SIZE OF THESE EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. 



One of the Chicago houses has contracts 
with a squab raiser paying $2.50 for six-pound 
squabs, $3.00 for seven-pound squabs, $3.50 
for eight-pound squabs and $4.00 for nine- 
pound squabs. One man in Iowa has six 
thousand old birds and has a yearly contract 
with this house. — H. Huecker, Illinois. 

Don't ship to a wholesaler unless you are 
wholesaling. If you want retail prices, go and 
get them according to the directions given in 
the Squab Magazine. 



370 



APPENDIX G 




PLYMOUTH ROCK CARNEAU SQUAB. 

Weight one pound, age three weeks. Two views of the same 
squab. In the upper picture the squab is compared with an ordinary 
glass tumbler, to show size. 



HOW MY BIRDS GET NESTING MA- 
TERIAL, by Harvey Drake. The usual way is 
to use crates to hold the material, but what 
the birds pull out and do not want they throw 
or drop down until they find what they do 
want. I have found a way to overcome this. 
Take a box about one and one-half feet deep, 
one foor wide and three or four feet long and 
put it under the window. Then take a board 
a little larger than the box you use and fasten 
it to the window for a sill inside like a shelf. 
This protects the nesting material from being 
soiled by birds sitting on the window sill, also 
if a shower of rain comes up in summer when 
the windows are up, the material is protected. 
I put the nesting material I use in the box 
and do not fill it more than one-third full. 
The birds fly down in this and pick it over until 
they find what they want, and then fly to their 
nesting place. 

A year ago in May I bought five hundred 
pigeons of the Homer variety and lately I have 
bought two hundred and fifty pairs more. I 
am greatly interested and have been greatly 
encouraged the past three months, as I have 
been getting $4.00 net for all of my nine-pound 
squabs, and $3.25 for those weighing less, and 
never have been able to fill the orders I get. — 
D. G. Barstow, Missouri. 



I USE STEMS OF LEAVES 
FOR NESTING, by Dutch 
Cropper. I fully believe pig- 
eons prefer dark-colored ma- 
terial for their nests. Just give 
them a chance at the stems of 
different kinds of leaves, such as 
are easily gathered from under 
the black walnut, butternut or 
locust tree; also, the inner bark 
torn from cedar posts or logs, 
and the bark of the grape-vine. 
I have known instances where 
salt-marsh hay was bought for 
the purpose, when, with very- 
little effort, material, far more 
desirable could have been pro- 
cured right on the own er's place. 

I have made beautiful jack- 
straws out of rye and oat stalks 
which were absolutely refused. 
Tangled oat straw they will use, 
but give them a chance at one 
or the other of the above, and 
note the difference in the archi- 
tecture of their nests. 

The Fulton Market Company 
are now buying squabs at thirty 
cents a pound and sell them at 
forty cents a pound. They say 
they rather quote them by 
pound, because the size varies 
so much. The demand is dull 
just now (August), and they are 
placing squabs in cold storage. 
Geis & Waelde will pay $2 a 
dozen for squabs and sell them 
at $2.75 and $3. I visited the 
farm of the O'Harra Squab Company. The 
proprietor, Wesley O'Harra, has Plymouth 
Rock Homers. Mr. O'Harra sells his squabs 
direct to the consumers and gets from thirty- 
three and one-third cents to forty cents each 
dressed. This is at the rate of $4 to $4.80 a 
dozen. — R. D. Hiart, Ohio. 

VASELINE FOR CANKER, by L. T. Dunn. 

Please publish this for the good of those who 
raise pigeons as it is the most valuable thing 
I have ever discovered for the pigeon raiser. 
Just common vaseline is a marvel for canker. 
Take some on the end of the finger, a good lamp 
of it, and poke it down the squab's throat. It 
will loosen the lumps in the throat and you can 
pull them out easily with a hairpin. Put some 
more vaseline in the throat after you do this. 
You will not lose two squabs in a hundred. 

Question: How shall I whitewash a loft filled 
with working pigeons? Answer: Drive your 
pigeons out into the flying pen on a sunny day 
and shut the windows, then paint the interior 
with cold water white paint, which will dry 
before night, then you can let your pigeons 
back into the house. 

Begin with the very best pigeons that money 
can buy; then breed for better ones. 



APPENDIX G 



371 



FRESH SQUABS DISPLAC- 
ING COLD STORAGE, by 
Harry U. Bell. Despite the 
fact that Washington City may 
be classed as a poor squab mar- 
ket, the demand for fresh-killed 
squabs is far in excess of the 
supply. 

The bulk of the squabs han- 
dled during the winter season is 
the product of the cold-storage 
plant. These are bought up 
during the summer, wherever 
they can be obtained, the source 
of supply being from persons 
with smalllofts of birds, or they 
are shipped from surrounding 
country places. The supply of 
cold-storage squabs has to be 
very short before they will pay 
as much as $3.50 or $4 a dozen . 

The recent investigation of 
the cold storage has done a great 
deal towards helping squab 
breeding in this vicinity. The 
squab-eating public is now 
clamoring for a better class of 
goods, and is willing to take 
them from breeders, knowing 
that they are the fresh-killed 
product. Having had to pay a 
goodly little sum for cold-stor- 
age squabs they are equally 
willing to pay for the fresh 
product. 

No one starting into the 
squab breeding business in this 
vicinity need fear for his mar- 
ket. It is waiting for him. If 
he produces good squabs and lets a few people 
know it, it will be but a very short while before 
he will have as much trade as he can handle. 

GRAIN WEIGHTS, by W. H. Cunningham. 

Below are given the weights of various products 
in their raw state, the figures indicating pounds 
per bushel: Wheat, 60; corn (shelled), 56; corn 
(on the cob), 70; rye, 56; barley, 48; buckwheat 
(in Pennsylvania), 50; buckwheat (in Ken- 
tucky), 52; buckwheat (in Massachusetts), 48; 
oats (in Illinois and Massachusetts), 32; oats 
(in Ohio), 33; oats (in Kentucky), 33 1-3; oats 
(in Maine and Pennsylvania*, 30; flaxseed, 56; 
hempseed, 48; broomcorn Si ^d, 52; sorghum 
seed, 40. 

When a pigeon gets out of fix, it fasts some- 
times three or four days and later comes around 
O. K. Don't worry about a bird's not eating. 
It knows its own business and is taking its only 
treatment, fasting. I have noticed this so 
much among the birds, especially with young- 
sters, I am earnestly entreating all pigeon 
friends to let the pigeons do the "doctoring " 
and let the owners of the birds give attention 
to feed, water and care of squabhouse, and 
Nature, the great doctor of all animal life, wil 
take care of the pigeon's ailments. — M. C. 
Martin, Kansas. 




WHITE HOMER AND PEN OF COLORED HOMERS. 



GROWTH OF AN DJEA. Ten years ago 
the word " squab " was practically unknown. 
Today it is on the lips of every one not only as 
* an article of food, but in slang, which is a true 
test of popularity. For example, at the great 
American preparatory schools, the freshmen 
are now dubbed " squabs," meaning the soft, 
tender, inexperienced youth, of both sexes. In 
the West, a " squab " is a tenderfoot. In the 
theatres, a " squab " is a young chorus girl of 
eighteen years or under. A " broiler " is a 
chorus girl between nineteen and twenty-one. 
" Squab parties " are gatherings of children. 

Fried spring chicken, roast turkey, duck, or 
beef are all good eating, but not as good as 
roast squab for my taste. It is the choice of all 
other meat for me. One of my customers, who 
is a hunter, just recently told me: " If I were 
served with young roast quail one meal and 
squab another I could not tell which was 
which." — W. B. Glotfelty, Pennsylvania. 

I am very much impressed with the squab 
business here in St. Louis, and think there is 
no better market to be had. I get $4 per 
dozen for nine pounds and $4.50 for ten pounds. 
I pay no attention to markets. — F. L. Mc- 
Donald, Missouri. 



372 



APPENDIX G 




TEN PAIRS OF SQUABS A YEAR. 

What do you think of these Homers? The ones with the crosses on 
them are the_ two best breeding Homers in my flock. They raise 
squabs weighing sixteen ounces apiece at the rate of ten pairs a 
year. They are the largest birds I have. I get twenty-five cents 
apiece for all my squabs alive and cannot raise one-third enough. — 
A. F. Ayers, California. 



HOW TO GET AIR INTO SQUAB 
HOUSES, by W. P. Jencks. When you see 
frost on the nails of your roof inside, make 
up your mind your house is damp. To venti- 
late a he use ten by twelve feet make a box 
about five or six feet long and about one foot 
wide. Have doors on the north and south side 
on hinges that swing in from the top. Close 
the one on the side where the wind is blowing 
and open the other one. A small ventilator 
one foot square open all around will let in 
more fresh air than one six feet long that is 
open only on the side opposite from the wind. 
A ventilator that is not over one foot square 
in a house ten by twelve with seventy-five or 
one hundred birds in it is not much use. The 
average squabhouse ventilators are too small. 
Make them larger. Try one as an experiment 
and find out as I did. 

I have sold all my squabs to a hotel right in 
the town. They have taken all I could raise 
and wanted more. They paid twenty-five cents 
each and took them alive. I did not have to 
kill them. I now sell my squabs by the ounce. 
I get two cents an ounce just killed and three 
cents an ounce dressed. — W. P. Jencks, Rhode 
Island. 

We are starting in the squab business on a 
small scale but with the idea of success and of 
a large plant. Our enthusiasm is strengthened 
by the remarkable success of a friend during 
the past two years. He has fully demonstrated 
to our satisfaction at least that the squab 
business is O. K. — H. C. Voss, Ohio. 



HOW TO IMPROVE A 
FLOCK BY REMATING, by 
George F. Lunn. I have about 
three hundred pairs of Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers and Car- 
neaux. If I find a pair that do 
not breed well, I remate them. 
I find that it is better to try 
that than it is to sell them, if 
they are good birds. If I find 
two pairs which I do not think 
are doing what they ought, and 
mate them over, then they do 
as a rule very much better. 

I take them out of the pen 
and use a mating coop for one 
week, then I put them in a 
small pen which I have built for 
that purpose, and I keep them 
there until they lay one set of 
eggs and have hatched them out, 
then I give the squabs to another 
pair and put them back into the 
pen from which I took them. 
I have not had any trouble of 
their going back to their old 
mates if they are kept apart 
for one or two months. 

I am getting for squabs that 

dress eight pounds to the dozen 

$4 a dozen at this date (May 5, 

1911) and think that is very 

good. January, February and 

March, I recieve five and six dollars for them 

in the market. They sold well last winter and 

the birds have been doing very well. 

My birds averaged six and one-half pairs 
of squabs for each pair of breeders for the year 
1909, and I think that they will do better than 
that this year, as they have worked at a more 
rapid rate so far. 

RAT TRAPS IN A BOX, by James Y. 

Egbert. When a breeder is troubled with mice 
in the squabhouse, he can get rid of them by 
using one or more traps in boxes. I take a box 
13 x 7 x 3 inches, or a tobacco caddy may be 
used. With a one-inch auger bore eight holes, 
four in each side. Bait your traps and set 
them inside, then put a cover over the top so 
the pigeons will not spring the traps. Traps 
in a squabhouse should always be protected as 
pigeons or squabs may be injured if they are 
not. In this way I cleaned out all the mice 
around my pen. 

I am going to buy more Homers soon, and 
will then have an output of twenty dozen 
squabs a month. I have standing orders for 
private trade for squabs. I get seventy cents 
a pair for the smallest squabs, or $4 a dozen. 
For the largest squabs I get $1 a pair, or $5.50 
a dozen. — R. C. Boyd, Pennsylvania. 

I have a printed postal card to keep my cus- 
tomers informed and jog their memory as to 
the desirability of a course of squabs. They 
have the habit now and require no reminder. — ■ 
Frank R. Tucker, Rhode Island. 



APPENDIX G 



373 



HOW A HOTEL MANA- 
GER PUSHES SQUABS, by 
John Hill. We pay seven dol- 
lars a dozen for the kind of 
squabs we serve. Just at pres- 
ent we have enough, but I 
would be very glad to know 
the names and addresses of 
some breeders of fine squabs. 
We cook them in any way our 
patrons want them, but put 
them on the bill of fare merely 
as squabs. I rather prefer them 
roasted, to any other way of 
cooking them. 

I ran the advertisements of 
our hotel in the New York 
Times and Brooklyn Eagle to 
stimulate the night-dinner trade . 
The night following my pub- 
lished talk about squabs, the 
sale was forty-two orders. Our 
average number of orders per 
night for squabs had been six 
or seven. That advertisement 
was read and it brought the 
business. 

I have been engaged in rais- 
ing pigeons for eight years, and 
as I am employed in the city, 
the only time I have to attend 
to my birds is in the morning 
and afternoon, after returning 
home. During my experience 
I have bred various pigeons, 
but have finally settled down 
to Homers for first choice and 
Carneaux for second choice. 
My Homer squabs weigh from 
twelve to fourteen ounces each, 
and Carneaux squabs from fif- 
teen to seventeen ounces each, 
and I have also crossed the 
Carneau and the Homer, and squabs from this 
cross weigh from fourteen to sixteen ounces 
each. I recently purchased ten acres of ground 
near the city and it is my intention to convert 
this entire place into a squab plant early next 
spring. — T. P. Meyer, Texas. 

I am getting from $2.75 to $4.50 per dozen 
for live squabs from the commission men in 
Cincinnati. I have not started to sell to the 
hotels yet. My best squabs weigh over ten 
pounds to the dozen. We grow wheat, corn, 
sunflower, kaffir corn on our farm. We save 
much money on feed bills. Corn and wheat 
are the staple articles of feed and every other 
day I mix corn, wheat, kaffir corn, sunflower 
seed, Canada peas, hempseed. Most of the 
time I feed mixed corn, wheat and Canada peas, 
the rest every other day. I think the first 
thing a beginner should learn is to ventilate 
the pigeon house. They must have pure air 
to breathe. Don't ventilate so that the wind 
will strike on birds. I store grain in barrels 
covered with tin, so rats can't eat. — George S. 
Beyer, Indiana. 




WHITE AND COLORED HOMERS. 



One thing I have learned about the care of 
pigeons: first and most important is plenty of 
clean, fresh drinking water, one fountain in the 
fly and one in the loft so when the old birds feed 
the squabs they can get water without flying 
outside for it. Second, that all grain or 6eed 
should be free from dust of any kind, and musty 
grain should not be fed under any circum- 
stances. I think most of the pigeon men here 
feed a little different than in most places. My 
main feed is wild brown mustard seed. , I have 
fed it with good results for three years. I will 
give my way of feeding: One and one-half 
quarts wheat in morning. From three to four 
quarts mustard seed at noon. One and one- 
half to two quarts Egyptian corn at night, with 
a feed of peas and rice once a week each. In 
each loft is a feeder containing grit, charcoal 
and sea-shells, in each fly a piece of mineral 
salt. One reason I feed more mustard seed is 
that it is a cheaper feed than anything else. 
It costs here $1.25 per one hundred pounds; 
white wheat is about $1.60 and Egyptian corn 
$1.75 to $2 per hundred. — Riley C. Clark, 
California. 



374 



APPENDIX G 



HOW I FEED SO AS TO LOSE NO 
SQUABS, by Fred C. Schrein. I started to 
raise squabs in 1904 with six pairs of Homers, 
the Extras from the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company. They cost me fifteen dollars, and 
my coops five dollars, total twenty dollars. 
I did not know a thing about pigeons, and so 
you see I had to start at the bottom and climb 
up, and now I am on the top rung of the ladder. 

When my squabs came, where was my mar- 
ket? I had to look for one. I took some 
down to the leading hotels and the managers 
startled me by remarking that they were not 
squabs. I asked in some perplexity, " Why 
are they not squabs? " " Because they are too 
large for squabs." It was up to me to make 
good. I replied that for every one of the birds 
that was not a squab I would give them a 
dollar. Then they said they had no calls 
for squabs, but I finally persuaded one of them 
to try mine, telling him that I would let him 
have them for three dollars a dozen. It did 
not take long before he found out that it pays 
to have first-class goods to do business, and 
so it was. I had to educate the people first 
as to what a squab was, and now I have them 
pretty well educated, and I cannot raise enough 
for my trade. I am now catering mostly to 
private custom and get fifty cents apiece for all 
my squabs. It makes no difference who it is; 
every one is treated alike. 

I have at present about one thousand birds, 
and if I had room I would have five thousand 
more. I expect in the near future to go out 
_n the suburbs and build a large squab plant. 

I use a mixed feed, and everything but corn. 
The only time that my birds get com is in the 
winter months, then in the afternoon I feed 
it to keep them warm through the night. Do 
not feed cracked corn at any time unless you 
can crack it yourself, and know it is fresh. 
Follow these instructions and I bet you will 
not have any more squabs die with canker 
unless your grain should happen to be musty. 
I know what I am talking about, as I have 
gone through the mill. 

HOW I MADE ROAST SQUABS POPU- 
LAR, by Clara M. Hodson. I have hatched 
eight hundred birds, kept one hundred pairs 
and sold the others at a fair profit. I have 
sold the squabs from twenty-five cents to 
fifty cents each according to size. They 
average ten pounds to the dozen, but many 
of them weigh one pound after removing 
feathers. 

I selected the birds I wished to keep, built a 
small addition to my first house and mated 
them up as I wished according to the colors, 
blue, white, black, brown or Carneau red. This 
is easily done if the youngsters are confined 
together in a mating coop for a couple of weeks, 
then are allowed to go into the fly where the 
/oung pairs are kept. They will bill and coo, 
build a nest and go to work. I have quite a 
number nesting at five months. 

My pigeon cote is in the rear of a lot 80 x 180 
feet on one of the main streets of this Maryland 
town of eight thousand people. It is the only 



pigeon plant in this section , and I have created 
an interest in my birds and a taste for " roast 
squab with peas ' ' that make a sale here for all. 
I cannot always supply the demand. I had 
pure healthy stock to begin, studied Mr. Rice's 
valuable book and the magazine and without 
any experience have had exceptional luck. No 
disease of any kind. I feed them a special 
pigeon feed (which stood first under a recent 
examination by the Maryland Agricultural 
College). It has about twelve different kinds 
of seed and cracked corn in it. I pay $2 per 
100 pounds for it. It costs me two cents apiece 
per week for my old birds and their squabs. 
Sometimes if the number is larger, I feed a 
little higher. They are fond of hemp. I 
watch them and feed them what they like. 
They are very little trouble. I feed and water 
regularly twice a day in troughs and fountains, 
and have the house cleaned every week, some- 
times oftener, as nests may require. This 
work is done by a boy twelve years old who 
loves the birds. 

My birds are the admiration of all who pass 
and see them sunning themselves. They know 
me and many of them know their names, I 
think. They are far more easily reared than 
chickens. I have fifteen White Leghorns and 
fifteen Rhode Island Red hens in a lot adjoin- 
ing my pigeons, but they are not so profitable. 
I find great pleasure snowing my guests my 
birds, and all are enthused with them. I 
recently took a prize serving them roasted 
whole, stuffed with celery and served with 
petit pois and crab apple jelly. Let every 
woman who loves pets try a few pigeons. 

Question: In what cases do you believe in 
selling squabs to middlemen, and in what 
direct to private trade? Answer: I believe 
in knowing the cost of production and selling 
to somebody at a profit. The average pigeon 
or poultry raiser doesn't know either costs or 
selling prices. The product of a large squab 
plant in the hands of an average business man 
is best sold to middlemen because the cost of 
finding retail customers for a large output is 
something requiring bother, skill, time, money 
and equipment, all of which the middlemen 
have, as well as the educated habits of people 
who are trading with them. The product of 
a small squab plant is best sold at retail because 
it costs nothing to find the customer if you 
follow directions. Producers are much more 
common than salesmen, in all lines. The 
salesmen have the equipment, the know-how. 
The producers should try to get it. It must 
be remembered that it takes training to lead 
a business life, although few seem to ap- 
preciate it. The man or woman who raises 
beautiful squabs but doesn't know how to sell 
them is very much of the habit of mind of the 
professional man, a physician, for example, 
who can write a book on how to cure a cold 
but can't cure one. Many of the misunder- 
standings in the pigeon business have arisen 
from the inability of the writers, who never 
do, to comprehend what the doers were doing. 



APPENDIX G 



375 



HOW ONE WOMAN WORKS AND WINS, 
by Nellie C. Wellman. The business of squab 
raising had always appealed to me as most 
fascinating, but living in a city I could not 
very well engage in such an occupation. 

But a few years ago, a very pleasant home- 
stead in the country, my husband's boyhood 
home, came into our possession. 

In the spring as soon as the weather per- 
mitted, our squabhouse of two units was 
started, and May 4, 1909, we installed thirty- 
one pairs of birds in unit No. 1. We were 
fortunate in securing fine Homers. I began 
to save the young birds for future breeders 
and by the last of August had about one 
hundred youngsters in unit No. 2. 

We sold no squabs until the first of Septem- 
ber of that year, and have been most succes- 
ful in raising fine birds, and also in disposing 
of them to the very best markets and private 
customers. 

I live about twenty-five miles from New 
Haven, Conn., which was my birthplace and 
also home for many years, and having an 
extensive circle of acquaintances, I found no 
difficulty in selling my squabs. 

Then, too, being personally acquainted with 
the proprietors of the best markets, I found 
them very ready and willing to buy good birds. 

Another means of our getting customers 
was through a private chef, who goes to the 
houses of the wealthy class to cook for private 
dinners. This chef (a woman) has done much 
to recommend our squabs, telling people they 
are the best that come under her notice. 

Two of the markets take the birds with 
feathers. Another market wishes the feathers 
off, but birds are not drawn. 

For our private trade, we dress the squabs 
completely, wrapping each one in wax paper 
and packing nicely in pasteboard boxes. 

As the birds are all sold in New Haven, this 
way of packing seems all that is necessary and 
we have never been obliged to use ice. 

In the spring of 1910 three more units were 
added to the house, which now consists of 
five units besides a grain and killing room 
at one end. 

I believe in absolute cleanliness, pure, fresh 
water, and plenty of it, good health grit, char- 
coal, salt and oyster shells. My birds have 
all of these, and I have never had a case of 
canker in my loft. 

I hire a man for cleaning and other heavy 
work, but attend personally to the birds, being 
familiar with each individually. 

Several of my breeders have raised nine and 
one-half pairs of squabs, and few less than 
eight pairs during the year. 

If possible I am more enthusiastic as regards 
squab breeding than ever. The pleasure I 
derive from being with the birds more than 
repays me for the labor connected with their 
care. 

As a rule, those who offer any class of pig- 
eons for half price, either have failed to figure 
out what it cost to raise and mate, or they are 
selling a poor class of birds. 



HOW A POSTAL CARD FOUND MY 
BUYERS, by Frank English. I purchased 
some Homers and Carneaux of the Plymouth 
Rock Squab Company. I started in to raise 
my own breeding stock, and my birds proved 
to be excellent workers. I began to advertise 
in the local press and by the following post 
card: 

SQUABS 

Rich, juicy, fat squabs are not only a dainty 
food, but also very nutritious and far superior 
to chickens. They are especially valuable to 
the sick and convalescent who cannot assimilate 
coarse meats. If you have never enjoyed 
the pleasure of eating squabs, try them. We 
have them on sale either killed and dressed, 
or alive as desired by some. We have nothing 
but the very best, and raise all we offer. No 
cold storage nor common pigeons. We sell 
by the single pair and upwards in half dozens, 
or any number required. 

FRANK ENGLISH, Squab and Pigeon 
Farm. 

Within forty-eight hours my telephone kept 
me busy with people inquiring about squabs. 
I need not say that in a small Northern Con- 
necticut section many of the inquiries were 
both original and provincial. Some wanted to 
know if I raised squabs for Gloucester fisher- 
men. Some wanted to know if it was right to 
skin them. Others desired information con- 
cerning the nature and purposes of squabs, 
while a few wanted to learn how to hunt and 
trap them. Of course, among the Berkshire 
and Litchfield Hills this simplicity was pardon- 
able, but out of one hundred postal cards sent 
out and a small advertisement in a local paper, 
I received orders for more squabs than I could 
furnish and the prices ranged from four to 
six dollars per dozen, according to size. 

To say that I was agreeably surprised goes 
without saying. I feel that many of the squab 
breeders unfavorably situated for expressing 
squabs long distances at great expense may 
take heart by my experience and cultivate a 
local trade to their advantage and profit. 

Later (April 25) 
Here's a how-de-do! My post cards and 
the advertisement one of our local hotels has 
given me have created a furor. I cannot 
supply squabs enough and have had to refuse 
orders. I did not dream when I sent out the 
post cards that I would have such a deluge of 
orders. The hotel man informs me that he 
never had such fine squabs before. 

There are squab breeders as far West as 
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas 
who are shipping steadily to the Eastern city 
markets. Your success with squabs does not 
depend upon the markets, but it does depend 
upon your intelligence in dealing with the 
markets. 

The pigeon business is like any other busi- 
ness; that is, you must talk pigeons if you sell 
pigeons. 



376 



APPENDIX G 




FOUR PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. 



HOW I EXPERIMENTED WITH COW 
PEAS, by William P. Gray. Although I have 
always found that it paid me well to feed 
Canada peas liberally, their price was so high 
through the summer and fall that in October 
I decided to try cow peas as a substitute, and 
accordingly mixed four bushels of cow peas 
with about eight hundred pounds of other 
grains. Shortly after beginning to use this 
mixture, I noticed that about all my squabs 
were affected with a looseness of the bowels 
that made my nests the filthiest that I had 
ever seen them. Several squabs died and 
those that I have marketed the past two months 
have been about the poorest I have ever had 
to dispose of. 

Ten days ago I made up another grain 
mixture, this time using instead of the cow 
peas four bushels of Canada peas and other 
grains, the same amount as before except for 
an extra one hundred pounds of cracked corn. 
Here is the result in ten days after substituting 
the Canada peas for the cow peas: The loose- 
ness of the bowels in the squabs has disap- 
peared. My scales have shown that the 
squabs taken out of the loft today were the 
heaviest that I have produced this fall. The 
old birds act as though they had taken on a 
new lease of life. Out of sixty-four pairs, 
sixty-one pairs are working, and seventy-four 
eggs have been laid the past week. 

To any wishing to know what my birds 
pxe being fed now, I wish to state that my 
grain mixture for cold weather is as follows: 
four bushels peas, five hundred pounds cracked 
corn, four bushels wheat, one hundred pounds 
kaffir corn, fifty pounds millet, twenty-five 
pounds hempseed. 



I never place a pair of pigeons 
in a pen unless they are banded. 
I also limit the number of birds 
placed in a pen to conform to 
the size of the pen, and under 
no conditions whatever do I 
allow another bird to be added 
to this pen. In my case the 
number is twenty-five pairs, as 
I have built my pens with this 
idea in view, for I believe this 
number is the most practical 
for all purposes, and I am con- 
vinced that a greater number 
than this will fail to produce 
the results shown by this num- 
ber of birds. I then make out 
a chart with the numbers one 
to twenty-five in a row, and 
allow twelve spaces for the 
twelve months of the year. 
Then I make a note in the 
space opposite the pair number 
in the corresponding month 
when robbing the pair of its 
young, showing just how many 
were taken. By referring to 
this record I am able to know 
exactly what this pair has ac- 
complished in a certain period, 
and if it does not show a stand- 
ard result I make arrangements to dispose of 
one or both birds at once, and in this way I 
save the feed the pair would consume and also 
avoid any possibility of either bird causing 
any trouble in idleness. This takes practically 
no time and is a big money saver. — F. L. Stock, 
Missouri. 

A year ago I moved my drug store about a 
mile from its former location, and about that 
time I had about one hundred old and young 
pigeons to move with squabs and eggs. I 
caught all the pigeons, old and young, put 
them in boxes with a sack over the tops, and 
lost only one young pigeon from suffocation. I 
lost all the eggs, and strange to say did not 
lose one squab, which were of all ages from one 
or two days to a couple of weeks old. I just 
put them in the squabhouse, and the old 
pigeons went on feeding them as before. By 
using a little common sense, pigeons are the 
easiest thing in the world to raise, and beat 
poultry all over. — C. Montz, Louisiana. 

In June, 1910, I purchased a dozen pairs of 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, and now 
(October, 1911) have eighty pairs of breeders 
and 140 youngsters. I have just started to sell 
my squabs and find a ready market. Can get 
$4.25 per dozen for eight to nine-pound squabs. 
I am on a rented place, but expect to move in 
the spring and build more lofts and increase 
my breeders. I can dispose of ten to fifteen 
dozen more squabs a week than I can supply. 
There are a great many breeders here who have 
what are called American Homers which 
breed a squab only a little larger than the com- 
mon pigeon. — H. W. Moore, Ohio. 



APPENDIX G 



377 



DRY GRAIN HEALTHFUL, by Hugh 
Donlon. Having had trouble and sickness in 
my birds, especially in the "big fellows," I 
was at a loss for some time to know where the 
trouble came from. I had grain from different 
sources to see if that would help, but no better 
luck. Lately I have taken each day's feed and 
left it on the back of the stove all night, or put 
it in a warm oven for a short time, and I find 
a wonderful difference. The birds picked up 
at once and seem to relish the crisp grain. 
There is very little grain, after it has stood in 
damp storehouses for a year or more, that will 
not draw dampness. 

I have been feeding dry bread for some time, 
and see it spoken of but how to feed it is the 
puzzle that will bother a great many, as it 
should not be wet. Run the bread through^ a 
coarse food chopper and it will come out in 
the form of pills that will be devoured greedily. 
It makes great stuffing for squabs. Of course 
it must be used in connection with grain rations. 

HOW I MADE A RAT-PROOF GRAIN 
BIN, by J. E. Maccabe. My feed room is 
down stairs, and the lofts are up stairs. The 
rats used to eat about half of the feed. I went 
to a tin shop and ordered a box of galvanized 
iron, twenty-four inches wide, thirty-six 
inches long, eighteen inches high, eight com- 
partments, four of the compartments six 
inches wide, and the full width of the box, the 
other four compartments six inches wide, but 
only half the width of the box, or twelve inches. 
Each compartment the full width of the box 
will hold a bushel, so the whole box carries six 
bushels of grain. Inside of two months the 
box had paid for its cost, five dollars. 

Between the rat-proof feed box and the lime 
in the lofts I have no more rats or mice. 

What Lime Did 

I couldn't go into the loft but what there 
was a rat or mouse, although I didn't keep the 
feed in the loft. The floor was of boards. 
The rats would go up the side of the building, 
then they would make their way into the loft. 
This spring, to make some whitewash, I bought 
too much lime, so I put some of it around the 
wall on the floor of the lofts. It extended 
out from the wall for six inches, an inch in 
thickness. From that day I have never been 
bothered with rats. 

I was in Seattle last week looking for a mar- 
ket. I went to all the high-class cafes and res- 
taurants. Here are a few: The Butler, Mancas, 
the Rathskeller, Olympus and Gerald's. All 
offered three dollars a dozen (feathers on) de- 
livered. In one I had rather an amusing ex- 
perience. I went to the chef and asked if he 
bought squabs. He said, " Yes." I asked how 
much he paid. " Ten cents apiece," he an- 
swered. I turned and started out. " Hey, 
vait," he called. " Gif you fifteen cents." 
" Nothing doing." " Gif you twenty cents." 
" Come again." Well, he " came " to twenty- 
five cents each delivered in Seattle. — Wallace 
Todd, Washington. 



SQUABS AT GOOD PRICES IN CALI- 
FORNIA, by Walter E. Hiller. I have moved 
to California from Massachusetts, where I bred 
squabs, and am all ready to have my Extra 
Plymouth Rock Homers shipped on here. 
They have fine pigeons around here. Squabs 
weigh twelve pounds to the dozen. They get 
$3.50 to $4 a dozen alive, and don't even have 
to twist their necks. Grain costs about the 
same as in the East: peas $4 per one hundred 
pounds, hempseed $6 per one hundred pounds. 
This is a fine climate to raise squabs. I have 
bought a nice home, one acre of land, all kinds 
of fruit, large stable, hot and cold water, 
electric light, bath room and a line of cars, 
eight miles to the city. I have built two coops, 
fifty feet long, and am building more. Things 
are all different here. The house is fifty feet 
long, four feet wide, ten feet fly, seven feet 
high; cement floor; everything all open, no 
windows, very easy to clean out. One coop 
holds fifty pairs. 

FOUR PAERS HOMERS STARTED ME 
IN 1903, by E. W. Lewis. I purchased six 
pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers in 1903. I 
did not purchase a bird in the seven years, 
but selected the best from these four pairs 
and their increase for breeders. The inbreed- 
ing did not seem to hurt them in the least, as 
the seventy-five pairs I have now are never 
sick, and the squabs at four weeks weigh 
eleven to fourteen ounces. I put my squabs 
in a separate coop for twenty-four hours 
before killing, and then their crops are entirely 
empty. Then kill and dry pick. In that 
condition they weigh eleven to fourteen ounces 
each. I am getting $3.75 a dozen the year 
round. A few days ago I had a large squab 
which dressed sixteen ounces. The chef at 
the hotel I sell to looked me up next day and 
said, " If you can furnish me squabs like that, 
I will give you $4.25 per dozen the year round.'' 
That decided me to get Carneaux, which I 
am doing, and I hope they prove all that has 
been written of them. I have not been in a 
position to expand as fast as would like. Of 
the seventy-five pairs of breeders I have now, 
here is the record for last year: January 1 to 
December 31, 1910, 748 squabs for which I 
received $224.90. Feed for the year was 
$106.75, leaving a profit of $118.15, and the 
work attending them was a recreation and 
pleasure. I feed whole corn, macaroni, wheat 
and kaffir corn as main feed, and hemp, peas 
and millet as luxuries. (Mr. Lewis, the 
writer of the foregoing, lives in Colorado. It 
i s often asked by residents of that state whether 
pigeons will breed well there, on account of 
the high altitude. His story is proof that they 
do. We are acquainted with a number of 
squab breeders in Colorado who never have 
complained that the altitude had any effect, 
and we do not believe that it has, either one 
way or the other. Pigeons seem to breed 
there as well as anywhere.) 

The demand for first-class pigeons is greater 
than the supply. 



378 



APPENDIX G 




NOVEL FLYING PEN. 
Squabs in the loft of a wagon house. 

Any fancier can find enough desirable char- 
acteristics in the Homer and Carneaux utility- 
pigeons to fully satisfy his fancy and at the 
same time be breeding something that is of some 
use to the world. I get just as much pleasure 
in breeding something that's useful, as any 
fancier does in breeding useless fancy varieties. 
If a person wants to breed pigeons for pleasure 
or fancy, utility pigeons are more desirable, 
in that by selling or eating the squabs that are 
not your ideal, you can pay the feed bill. If 
you have a squab which is off color or has some- 
thing about it you do not_ like, you get just 
as much for it as squab, as if it were just what 
you desired and you sent it to market. I 
believe in fancy utility pigeons, and as long 
as I breed pigeons I will consider the fancy 
points, even in squab breeding pigeons. — 
J. W. Williams, Texas. 

The most essential point in buying utility 
pigeons is to get the kind or class that will 
breed the most and the best squabs. However, 
the kind that's in demand must be considered. 
The kinds most in demand in the South are the 
Homer and Carneaux squabs. The reason for 
this is that there are a great many more 
Homers and Carneaux than all other varieties 
combined. In fact, all dealers know what 
Homer and Carneaux squabs are. — J. W. 
Williams, Texas. 



For several years I had been 
trying to get a flock of well-bred 
chickens. I had paid good 
prices for eggs and hatched a 
mongrel lot of chicks. So few 
were at all what would be called 
good lookers that I became thor- 
oughly disgusted with the whole 
business. Too many casualties 
and fatalities of the chicks, to be 
profitable. Too much bother to 
run out in the storm and pick 
up the half-drowned chicks. 
Too many mites to keep off the 
roosts. Too much of a job for 
the financial returns. So I de- 
cided to look to squab raising. 
Some of my friends have gotten 
past the point where they smile 
as they ask me hew the pigeons 
are getting along. They for- 
merly acted as if they thought 
that pigeons were good enough 
for a boy to have, but for a big 
strong man with a good pro- 
fession to bother with pigeons 
was too much like child's play. 
The person that is looking for 
a pleasant and profitable busi- 
ness would do well to take up 
squabs. — C. F. Wilson, Illinois. 

I will tell you of a little ex- 
periment I had with a pair of 
pigeons. I did not like the looks 
of the place where they had 
their nest so one noon I 
changed it into another nestbox. 
During the afternoon while I was away at 
work a white cock chased the cock off the nest 
In the evening when I came home I found the 
eggs very cold, and I put them back where 
they were in the first place, caught the hen, 
put her on the nest, and she stayed. I didn't 
expect them to hatch after being chilled, but 
to my surprise they did, but the young ones 
were two days behind time in getting out. 
They are getting along nicely. — Edward Knapp, 
Indiana. 

Some one gave me an old copy of Rice's 
Manual five or six years old. I began to study 
that and soon decided to send for the last 
issue. It came in due time and along with it 
a sample copy of the National Squab Magazine. 
After considerable deliberation and delay I 
sent in my one dollar subscription for the 
paper and from that time on I began to see 
what squab raising meant. For the first few 
months the magazine was worth more than 
the subscription price each month. I could 
not do without it now. — R. C. Clark, California. 

About a year ago I bought of you thirteen 
pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I now 
have about two hundred pigeons, and they are 
beauties. I have killed but few, as I wish to get 
a large stock on hand and then offer squabs only 
for sale. — William C. Davis, Georgia. 



APPENDIX G 



379 



MINE EAT LOCUST LEAVES, PEPPER- 
GRASS, by George Jackson. I bought 
thirteen pairs of the best Plymouth Rock 
Homers in May, 1909, and now, eleven months 
later, I have two hundred birds. Every one 
that comes along admires them. I have a 
friend who gives me boxes, which I break up 
and make use of in building. So in this way I 
do not have to buy much lumber. 

We have an offer here (Kentucky) for squabs 
weighing eight ounces at $3 per dozen, and as 
ours weigh from twelve to sixteen ounces I 
think I could get at least $5 for my squabs. 

I feed seven different kinds of grain, but my 
young birds do not like the Canada peas. I 
feed rice and locust leaves sometimes, and as 
soon as peppergrass grows I will give them that. 

RICH SQUAB OPENINGS IN CALI- 
FORNIA, by M. W. Donaldson. Nowhere 
outside the city of New York is the demand for 
squabs so strong as in the cities of Oakland 
and San Francisco, California, with their 
combined population of approximately 700,000 
(census just completed). While Oakland boasts 
of her hotels, grills, clubs and sanitariums, 
where squabs find a ready market, San Fran- 
cisco's three leading hotels alone could con- 
sume all the squabs produced in California 
today, and then run short on orders for this 
delicious luxury. One dollar per pound can 
be obtained for the right kind of squabs in the 
Oakland or San Francisco markets when offered 
to the right kind of trade. As the game laws 
of our state are becoming more stringent each 
year, and prices correspondingly higher for 
the inadequate supply of wild game brought 
in, also likewise for young poultry, the only 
substitute for the squab, there must soon be 
found by the caterer a means of taking care 
of his menu along the lines of wild game, and 
the only logical solution appears solely in 
the squab. There certainly is a field here for 
many who might care to invest in this lucrative 
industry. San Francisco is a most cosmopoli- 
tan city and right up to date. Californians 
are not afraid to spend their money. They 
want the best money will buy and they get 
it, regardless of what it may cost. If they 
should call for squab on toast, they would 
not hesitate at $2.50 to ask for it. It's the 
same in all other lines of trade in California. 
The people here demand the best and they 
certainly have it. Squabs will soon be in- 
cluded, and the best that can be produced, 
both in size as well as in flavor. The man 
that gets in first on this market with a modem 
squab plant will have the easiest and the 
surest sailing, but nevertheless, sure. Such 
are the possibilities for the producer of squabs 
(for the rich man's stomach) near the Oakland 
and San Francisco markets of California. 

About October of last year I bought from 
your firm nine pairs No. 1 Plymouth Rock 
Homers. At the present time (June 12), 
I have about eighty-five birds all in first-class 
shape, besides about twenty killed for the 
table. — A. E. Buchanan, British Columbia. 



NEW ORLEANS WAITING FOR GOOD 
SQUABS, by K. J. Braud. I am raising 
squabs for pleasure and for my own table use. 
I received my birds exactly nine months ago, 
twelve pairs of Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, 
for which I paid 330. I have raised in that 
time twenty-four pairs of breeders, some of 
them larger than the parents, and have used 
for our table seven dozen squabs, and now have 
ten pairs of young ones in the nests, making a 
total of 146 birds. This is not remarkable, but 
in view of the fact that I had never had any 
experience in the business I consider it highly 
satisfactory, at least to me. I have never lost 
a single large bird, having all the original birds, 
and a finer lot I think it impossible to find. I 
have six pairs of my young ones working, three 
of which have hatched young squabs, and the 
other three are setting. 

Taking things generally, I am highly pleased 
so far. I derive a great deal of pleasure, and 
besides quite a delicacy for our table. I have 
no doubt in my mind that squab-raising can 
be made profitable here in Louisiana as well 
as anywhere else. I feed my birds along the 
lines set in the National Standard Squab Book, 
and I feel that any one following those direc- 
tions can hardly fail if they give them the 
proper attention. 

It appears to me that a good market could 
be created in New Orleans for squabs if the 
proper energy and push were behind the 
business. 



MUST SAY I PREFER SQUABS TO 
CHICKENS, by Albert F. Neblung. I will 
tell you why I am going to raise squabs and 
not chickens. I have been raising both for 
some time and have wanted to sell my chickens, 
and have found a buyer, at last, and have sold 
out all I had, also sold all my pigeons, because 
they were not what I wanted. Now to get 
a start with the best there is in the line of 
squab breeders. I could clean my squab 
coop in two hours, then they would be all 
right for one week without need of cleaning, 
but the chickens needed about two hours' 
work each morning to keep away lice, then it 
was never right. The chickens were always 
wild and would fly as if I were going to kill 
them all, but the pigeons would mind their 
business, be tame, sit on my hand, and eat out 
of it. I'd like to see a chicken do that. Then 
I set an incubator with 108 eggs and hatched 
fifty-four chickens. The first week I lost 
fifteen, the second week, fourteen, the next 
two weeks eleven. Out of the fifty-four I 
had fourteen left. That is the way chickens 
do with you. But when pigeons lay, you 
will have two squabs. You don't have to 
feed them or watch the heat in the incubator 
or brooder. Well, to cut a long story short, 
chickens eat about twice as much as pigeons. 
About the same with work, if not more. Me 
lor pigeons! I will have some good Carneaux 
or Homers. I have room for about one 
hundred pairs, but will not start with that 
number. 



380 



APPENDIX G 




PLYMOUTH ROCK CARNEAUX IN NEBRASKA 



I used oat straw for nest material. The 
birds leave all other kinds for it. It's soft, 
pliable, holds shape, is superior to anything 
for both hens' nests and birds' nests, of any- 
thing procurable. They build of it large nests 
which protect the eggs from cold. Having the 
nest shelves on cleats of iron keeps lice or mites 
away. With a keg of good, strong whitewash 
with carbolic acid in it, a man can clean nests 
in a jiffy. Dip in keg and save lots of time. 
His lofts look neat at all times. A man could 
clean many hundred in an hour. I use plenty 
of salt in all whitewash. The birds peck at it, 
and get plenty of lime and salt. In buying 
birds I always put on an extra fifty cents a 
pair. This gets the best at all times for foun- 
dation stock. — William B. Thomas, Texas. 



A great many children come 
into this world every year with 
a decided deficiency of the 
liquor protoplasm in their little 
bodies, and continue to suffer 
for want of the supply of it, 
until some bright physician ad- 
vises that they be given squabs 
to eat, as it is practically the 
only known way of supplying 
this life-giving fluid. It is a 
well demonstrated fact that 
nothing is so beneficial in the 
treatment of children's diseases, 
such as dyspepsia, stomach and 
intestinal, where the pancreatic 
and gastric juices have vanished 
and the ptyalin of the saliva 
has disappeared. This squab 
elixir is almost instantly ab- 
sorbed into the veins and is the 
most nourishing, invigorating 
and vitalizing juice the medical 
profession has ever discovered, 
especially in the case before 
mentioned, and also in all other 
" wasting away " diseases due 
to malnutrition. It must not 
be understood that squabs as a 
life-building food are necessarily 
confined to the children — far 
from it. Any one suffering from 
dyspepsia, indigestion, chlorosis 
or any of these system-deplet- 
ing stomach diseases is equally 
benefited. — Franklin H. Smith, 
California. 

MY SALT CAT, by P. Earl 
Kolb. Take one part charcoal, 
one part sifted sand (using the 
coarse part), one part salt, and 
add a little lime, enough to make 
it stick, and add a little water. 
Mix well. Make one or more 
wood moulds and fill them with 
this mixture, then let them dry 
(I put mine near the stove, for 
the bottom part is hard to get 
dried without heat). When the 
mass is hard it will come out of 
the mould like a brick. Place 

a brick on a board in the cage and the pigeons 

will peck at it. 

To retain the peculiar delicate flavor of the 
squab the favored method of preparing them 
for the table is as follows: If possible make use 
of a regular covered roaster; in any event use a 
pan that can be covered. If you care to stuff 
them, and oysters are not objectionable, use 
bread crumbs and fresh oysters, though many 
claim this method is no improvement. Roast 
them rather slowly for an hour and a half or 
two hours, basting with melted butter every 
fifteen minutes. In frying or broiling them the 
greater portion of the delicious delicate flavor 
of this superior dish is lost and you are the 
loser thereby. — F. B. Shepard, Pennsylvania. 



APPENDIX G 



381 



FOUR-WEEKS SQUABS BEAT EIGHT- 
WEEKS CHICKS, by A. J. Alexander. Six 

pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers arrived here 
March 13. Three weeks later I sent an order 
for ten pairs, so I have a stock of seventeen 
pairs and have had them about two months. 
I now have thirty-six squabs, about twenty of 
them off the nest, and they weigh at from 
three to four weeks old from three-quarters to 
one pound each. I am writing this to show 
you and others how much easier it is to raise 
squabs than chicks. I hatched twenty-four 
barred Rock chickens in February and March 
and now have only eight of them. They have 
disappeared by night from rats, and some 
were drowned by being led out in grass by old 
Biddy. Each day finds me looking them up 
to see if the eight remaining are all there. My 
little Rocks are now nice broilers while the 
oldest squabs can't be told from the old birds. 
In fact my squabs are larger at four weeks old 
than the Rocks are at eight weeks old. 

After I have time to raise pigeons enough to 
have a reasonable stock there will be no more 
chicken raising in mine. 

I put an extra pick-up pigeon egg into a 
nest with one egg and three more were laid. 
The hen hatched four squabs but one died. 
One nest with two squabs in it was deserted 
and I lost them, making three squabs lost out 
of thirty-nine, which is much better than I did 
with chickens running at large or in a barnyard. 
Doubling my stock in two months' time I 
think pretty good for a new breeder. 

I FEED WILD SEEDS PICKED ON THE 
STALK, by Vivian E. Dawley. I saw in the 

April issue of the magazine an article by J . W. 
Arthurs, saying that Homers were real money- 
makers, and I am convinced beyond all doubt 
that they are as good as the best, and better 
than the rest. I have eighteen pairs in one 
pen and since the first of May have sold 
$20.73 worth of squabs, and on July 24 there 
were twenty-two squabs and twelve eggs in 
the coop. All my feed since April 1 has con- 
sisted of yellow com, whole and cracked, and 
Canada peas. Corn is going up in price 
every week here. It is now (July) $1.50 per 
bag, and Canada peas $2.40 per bushel. My 
wild seed I feed at this time of the year, green. 
I pick it on the stalk and place it on the wire 
in the flying pen, and the birds get plenty of 
exercise clinging to the wire and pecking it 
to pieces. I keep grit by them at all times, as 
I think it the most essential of anything we 
give them, except water, which should be 
given at least three times a day, and the best 
of spring water should always be used, as 
river or pond water is softer and creates a 
slime in the drinking fountains quicker than 
the spring water. 

My three hundred birds (Homers) purchased 
va May, 1910, have given me squabs for sale 
every month since, except December, paying 
from five to seven per cent per month on cost 
of flock and equipment. I am planning to en- 
large my plant. — D. N. Carrington, New York. 



HOW I LEARNED NOT TO LOSE A 
SQUAB, by Mrs. E. C. Monahan. One year 
as a pigeon breeder hardly seems long enough 
for advice-giving, but I am so sure that I have 
the solution why young stock are lost in the 
first few weeks after leaving the nests that I 
can't keep it to myself. Advice need not.be 
taken, anyway. I lose not one bird. When 
the squabs first leave their nests, I arrange re- 
treats to give the frightened little things 
plenty of opportunity for rest from the hazing 
even the gentle Carneaux give. Next I transfer 
them to the youngster pen at night and slip 
them into a roomy corner. For several days 
after this, I scatter food handy before the 
callow brood when the older birds are inter- 
ested in fresh bath water or a little hempseed. 
The last thing at night, before the newcomers 
have mustered courage to go above to roost 
where the older birds already are, I scatter 
grain as long as it is picked up. As I am. raising 
birds which at eight months outweigh their 
parents, who are eighteen to twenty-two-ounce 
Carneaux, my plan seems a good one. I also 
keep the same bone and muscle-making dry 
mash before them in hoppers that poultrymen 
say is indispensable. It is dry bran mixed 
with charcoal, grit, oyster shell, salt, and a 
very little cayenne pepper and commercial 
beef scraps. This hopper is liberally patronized 
by the birds. The squabs in the nests nearly, 
always weigh sixteen ounces at three weeks, 
and where the nests are low many of them 
run about at this age. The parents feed them 
for eight to ten days longer. At five weeks, 
when the young are no longer tolerated near 
their former home, I do the transferring. At 
first any work that required handling the 
pigeons made me about sick, for fear I would 
fail or would hurt the birds. I use no net or 
other device, simply do all the catching at 
early roosting time. Mated stock is especially 
easy to handle that way. The pigeons were 
bought to keep me out of doors, for reason of 
health, but have developed into a fine pin- 
money investment, so the plant is to be en- 
larged soon. I often give the Squab Magazine 
to persons buying stock of me, and recommend 
it to all who show the faintest interest in 
pigeons. 

I notice some writers suggesting that the 
first egg be taken from the hen pigeon as soon 
as laid, and another be substituted, until the 
second is laid, then both eggs again be re- 
placed, so that the two eggs will hatch the 
same day. Child play. Again I wish to say 
that the birds with Nature as the teacher can 
run their own business. As a matter of fact, 
as all experienced breeders know, the birds 
do not hover the first egg closely in any season; 
in winter, just enough to keep it from freezing. 
You can examine the one egg and you will find 
almost invariably the first egg cold until the 
hen goes on the nest for laying the second 
egg, which is about 2 p.m. the third day. 
Then she hovers the eggs closely, and the 
hatching process begins with the two eggs in 
the nest. — M. C. Martin, Kansas. 



382 



APPENDIX G 




FIRST-CLASS HOMERS IN THEIR KANSAS HOME. 



SIXTY CENTS A PAIR, by Charles S. Eby. 

I have a standing order for all the Plymouth 
Rock Extra Homer squabs I can raise from a 
large firm in Detroit (Michigan), and they 
pay me sixty cents a pair, just as they are off 
the nest. They told me they were the largest 
squabs they had ever seen. They weigh 
from one pound to nineteen ounces apiece. I 
think I have the largest or rather the heaviest 
Homer squabs in the country. Don't you 
think so? The smallest squab I ever weighed 
at four weeks of age weighed fifteen ounces. 
I have lost but three old birds since I started, 
and that was with sour crop, caused by poor 
feed. 

Question: I am going to start squab raising 
in a carriage house which is now overrun with 
rats and mice. How should I arrange the place 
to keep them out? Answer: I advise you to lay 
one-half inch mesh wire netting on the whole 
floor, also the walls and ceiling, so as to make 
it physically impossible for rats or mice to 
get into the squab room from the outside. 
If you have a double floor you can lay the wire 
netting between the floors. You must be 
careful to screen the ventilators, and in the 
management of the window, especially when 
closing for the night. 

Question: Here in Illinois we have cow peas 
in plenty. Are they good feed for squabs, and 
are they as good as Canada peas? I can buy 
them for from $1.25 to $1.75 per bushel, accord- 
ing to the season. Answer'. Cow peas are not 
favored so much as Canada peas and are gen- 
erally more expensive. They are all right to 
feed to pigeons. 

Question: I am a woman and dislike to 
kill and pluck the squabs. Would you recom- 
mend my shipping the young squabs alive 
from Mississippi to the northern markets? 
Answer: No. If you don't like to kill them, 
why don't you raise up your pigeons for breed- 
ers and sell them alive in pairs, as so many are 
now doing? 



WHAT AN EASTERNER SEES IN CALI- 
FORNIA, by B. F. Babcock. Having been in 
Southern California and Los Angeles for over a 
year, it has given me a good opportunity to 
look around and give to the readers of this 
magazine an idea of the possibilities of squab 
business in Southern California. The climate 
is par excellence (except occasional fog and 
dampness in the morning, which may cause 
sickness among the breeders, but this is easily 
overcome) having none of the extreme Eastern 
winters and no bad storms. I have not so far 
seen any squabs in the markets that compare 
with the ones that I raised in New Jersey from 
Plymouth Rock Extra Homers and sent to the 
New York markets. 

I have been raising pigeons for the last few 
years, but never paid any attention to the rais- 
ing of squabs for market until about a year ago. 
I had some Homer pigeons, and then I bought 
a few more, and sold my first pair of squabs in 
May, 1910, and from that time on I have had 
sale for all the squabs I could raise. I sell all 
my squabs dressed, and get seventy-five cents a 
pair for all. I feed corn, wheat, kaffir corn, 
buckwheat, hemp, peas, barley and millet. 
They are very prolific breeders and raise nice 
squabs. I am a great lover of pigeons and find 
squab raising very interesting work. _ I have 
been a subscriber to the Squab Magazine since 
January, 1910, and think it is the best period- 
ical on pigeons ever published, and would not 
be without it. — Ralph Lenz, Ohio. 

I bought some fine Homers from the Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Company two years ago. 
A friend asked me to try my birds in a Homing 
Club, but I thought they were not good enough 
for racing. I joined one of the largest Homing 
Clubs in Canada. I won a good many prizes 
in the club, the birds flying as far North as 
Cobalt. — Peter Chormann, Ontario. 

The retail prices in Providence for ten- 
pound squabs are $1.10 per pair, $5 per dozen. — 
H. C. Card. Rhode Island. 



APPENDIX G 



383 



HOW I BUILT LARGE FROM A SMALL 
START, by W. E. Blakslee. Many times we 
fail to realize that the things we do for a pleas- 
ant pastime may become most important later. 
About three years ago I thought it would be 
an enjoyable and interesting way to spend my 
spare time to have a small flock of pigeons, and 
make a study of raising both breeders and 
squabs. At that time I little realized what 
it was going to mean for me later. 

My first move was to obtain the National 
Standard Squab Book and study up what 
information I could derive from that. I 
found it to be a great aid to me for the " know 
how," and what to do, in getting my place in 
proper shape for keeping birds. As I advanced 
in my experience I appreciated more and more 
what the Manual taught. 

1 fixed a place at the start for a good number 
of birds, and also a good-sized rearing pen. 
My first order to the Plymouth Rock Squab 
Company was for only three pairs of birds. 
It was my intention to go slow and sure, and 
let my knowledge increase as my birds in- 
creased. I can see what it means to me now 
in being able to handle any number of pigeons 
with perfect ease. 

After I got started under way, I found my- 
self getting more and more interested. There 
seems to be something very attractive in it if 
one once gets fully interested. The growth 
of the squab is a fast and wonderful develop- 
ment. Any lover of nature cannot help being 
astonished by seeing it. After one has raised 
a nice lot of selected breeders, he certainly has 
done a work to be proud of. 

As I advanced in raising my flock, I added 
now and then a few birds from Mr. Rice to 
mix in with my own raising. I had such good 
success, and increased so fast, that many 
times I found myself wishing I could devote 
my whole time to them. I little thought then 
the time would come so soon for me to do so. 
My birds have done well and proved a perfect 
success from my start, and I have a fine large 
flock at present that is a good investment for 
me. I have had the misfortune to lose my 
health and have had to stay in a higher altitude 
than my own home all the summer, leaving my 
home and birds to the care of my wife and 
daughter, who have kept everything right up 
to good success and standard. This proves a 
family might be left in worse circumstances 
than having a good, profitable flock of pigeons 
to help out. My condition has made it neces- 
sary for me to give up my home in the valley 
for one in the mountains, so I am having to 
give up my position in the manufacturing line 
and do what I am next best fitted for, and able. 
If it was not for my squab experience, I don't 
know what I would take up, for I am prepared 
for maintaining myself only in a mechanical 
life. It now looks as if the squab business 
came to me for a good purpose. I now have 
nearly a thousand pairs, all Plymouth Rock 
stock. I am getting fine squabs, very few less 
than ten ounces, most twelve to fourteen 
ounces and very often I find a few fifteen, 
sixteen and seventeen ounces. 



HOW WE RID A LOFT OF FLIES AND 
MICE, by H. J. Moeller. We are living in 
the trade center of this state (Wisconsin), but 
the game laws extend over such a wide range 
of time, that it is a hard proposition to have 
our squabs bring the right market prices. 
At present (July) we are receiving three dollars 
per dozen for squabs weighing eight to nine 
pounds per dozen, while the same are being 
retailed for four and five dollars. The prices 
of grain, however, are reasonable, thus afford- 
ing us one advantage over the low prices paid. 
We have arranged to have always about fifty 
extra nestbowls on hand, so that when the 
squabs are taken from the soiled ones we can 
quickly take them out and replace with clean 
ones. Then if the time does not permit we 
can put the dirty nestbowls aside and clean 
them later in the day. After the nests are 
cleaned we scrub them with a solution of lime 
and carbolic acid. We also use the crystal 
form of carbolic acid as a disinfectant around 
the coop, placing it on different parts of the 
floor in cans with the tops perforated. This 
is a quick way to rid a loft of flies and mice, as 
neither of them can bear the odor. For nest- 
ing material we use nothing but tobacco stems 
in the warm months and marsh hay in the 
winter. Our loft is given a good cleaning 
twice a year, and painted a good heavy coat 
of whitewash. The floor and nests are at- 
tended to weekly. 

I have just finished the job of whitewashing 
my pen with a very good whitewash made as 
follows: Dump a bushel of lime into a water- 
tight barrel and add water until it is slaked, 
at the same time adding cup by cup, while 
the slaking is going on and the mixture is very 
hot, common kerosene oil until you have 
added a gallon. If added in this way the oil 
forms a curious chemical combination with 
the slaked lime. The product when mixed 
with water to form a whitewash of ordinary 
consistency gives a smooth, hard finish, brilliant 
whitewash. Fill the barrel up with water 
after the mixture has cooled, when a small 
amount of the uncombined oil rises to the 
surface and protects the wash against deteriora- 
tion. Any unused residue keeps for years. 
Put the wash made as indicated above on the 
outside of everything that you wish a brilliant, 
durable white. On the inside use the same 
whitewash, modified by adding a third of a cup 
of crude carbolic acid (purchased at drug 
store) to the water bucket of the wash. The 
carbolic acid reacts with the lime, making 
carbolate of lime, which is the basis of most 
of the lice powders. This is an excellent white- 
wash to put on the nestboxes and walls on the 
inside of the squabhouses. — H. M. Mayhew, 
California. 

Carneaux come not only in red splashed with 
white, but also yellow splashed with white and 
solid yellow. These colors are liable to come 
out at any time, just as several colors come from 
Homers. 



384 



APPENDIX G 




SMALL SQUABHOUSE. 

In a corner of the right-hand picture is seen a group of some of 
his Homers. 



PITTSBURG A RICH MARKET FOR 
SQUABS, by William McK. Ewart. One 

year ago last March, I purchased twenty-six 
pairs of Plymouth Rock Carneaux and nine 
pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I 
had no intention of making a business out of 
my birds, but bought them to please my son. 
This started me to making an effort to reach 
two hundred pairs of birds. Last August I 
started to kill squabs and have been since 
selling them to a Pittsburg wholesaler who 
pays liberally and takes all I offer him. I 
must tell you what grand breeders my birds 
have been. By substituting Carneaux eggs 
under Homers, I have been getting my best 
birds to lay fifteen times a year. (For full 
directions for doing this, see page 231 of this 
Manual.) The squabs weigh a pound at four 
weeks of age, which is what good Carneaux 
should weigh. Most of my young birds have 
proven as good and better than my old ones, 
which goes to prove that my original birds were 
first class. It pays always to buy the best. 

A friend of mine told me about mixing 
Venetian red in the grit, which has proven a 
first-class way to give it to them. They must 
get the red when they eat the grit. I have no 
trouble now with canker. 

Another plan of his is to equip your nests 
with wire bobs, made from griddle toasters, 
which cost five cents each. Have these 
fastened on your nests when squabs are about 
three weeks old, and keep them there till you 
are ready to kill at four weeks. This keeps the 
squabs from getting out on the floor and 
running off all their flesh and weight. The old 
birds feed them through these wire bobs which 
will swing in if you wish them to, thus letting 
the old bird into the nest. This, however, 
requires you to let the old bird out to get feed 
and exercise. I find the cock bird will feed 
through these wires all right. 

While raising youngsters I found that more 
females were dying than males, so I tried the 
scheme of taking away the first egg and only 
hatching the second. As a result I now am 
actually long on hens. 



Four years ago the Healys 
purchased twenty pairs of Ply- 
mouth Rock Extra Homers. 
The increase was conserved, 
the culls disposed of, and new 
stock was introduced and added 
just as fast as the owners were 
able to pay for it. The market- 
ing of squabs was also carried 
along with the growth of the 
plant, demonstrating conclus- 
ively that the profits would be 
greater, and the expense far 
less than usual to the conduct 
of a large chicken plant. The 
houses, flies and other equipment 
were gradually gotten in place. 
As the large stock of poultry 
was disposed of the proceeds 
were invested in more adult 
Homers, and some Carneaux. 
The flock has grown until now 
there are 750 pairs of prod ucing birds in the nine- 
teen units of houses and flies. No more beautiful 
sight was ever beheld than that presented by 
these contented and happy birds in their clean 
and comfortable homes. Shipments of squabs 
to New York have been successfully made 
through three summers without the loss of a 
single bird and no shipment has been re-iced 
en route. In each box is a tiny outlet for 
drainage. The rate to New York is $3.50 per 
one hundred pounds by express, there being 
no charge made for the ice. The boxes are 
returned at a very low charge and one box 
will make the round trip in six days. The 
New York market alone would take one 
hundred birds *ir every single bird offered. 
There is no way to Gil the demand and there 
seems to be no limit to the demand. Mr. 
Healy, the manager, stated that while he had 
no stock of any kind for sale, he would be glad 
to see others enter the business, as there is 
no element of risk encountered in it, and, 
with fairly good attention and a little capital 
most any energetic person could make a suc- 
cess of the industry. — T. K. Bates, Florida. 

If you raise pigeons get all you can out of 
them. Raising squabs is a business, so by all 
means make it a business. You would not in- 
vest your good money in a dry-goods business 
and sit down and expect the business to come to 
you. If a business man with the big, red- writ- 
ten word of success ever before you, you would 
fix up your show windows to attract attention, 
would carry all the newest and best goods, and, 
above all, you would advertise and advertise 
well. What applies to one business applies to 
another. If you go in for squabs, either as 
your business or as a help to your income, go 
into it well, and with all your heart. Do not 
buy your birds and then sit down and wait for 
results. — Charles B. Durborow, New Jersey. 

Your birds have proven to be what you claim 
them to be. I find also that I can depend upon 
you with absolute confidence. — Sylvester 
Grote, Ohio. 



APPENDIX G 



385 



POOR JUDGMENT IN MARKETING 
SQUABS. Members of the National Squab 
Breeders' Association will be interested in 
the following letter received from New Jersey: 

" I take my squabs to a New York supply 
house, and am getting top prices. I have 
found out thac some breeders are considerably 
to blame if low prices for squabs prevail. A 
commission man sold me eight dozen eight- 
pound squabs for $1.96 a dozen, and the 
breeder received $ 1.87 a dozen, minus express- 
age. I sold these squabs at $3 a dozen, but I 
can not always do this, as they smelled a rat." 

The above is an instance where one squab 
breeder profited by the ignorance of another. 

What happened was this: The breeder of 
the squabs had eight dozen good ones which he 
could have sold at retail by the use of ordinary 
intelligence and the directions given by the 
National Squab Magazine for $5 a dozen, and 
at wholesale for at least $3 a dozen. He 
parted with them at the absurdly low price 
of $1.87 a dozen. The expressman or other 
middleman reported to him that the sale had 
been made at $1.96 and took off nine cents a 
dozen commission, probably figuring at five 
per cent. The breeder did not get the whole 
of $1.87, because the express charges had to 
come out of that. It reads like an express 
company sale. All interstate express com- 
panies have what is called order and com- 
mission departments. They will take any 
farm produce and sell it on commission. In 
such cases the wagon starts out from the depot 
with the goods and the driver calls at a con- 
venient marketplace. It is for the interest of 
the express company to sell the goods at highest 
price so that they can get a higher commission 
but their interest is not nearly so strong as that 
of the shipper and as a matter of fact, in the 
case of perishable goods, they are anxious to 
get rid of the load in the quickest possible time. 
The buyers know all this and taking advantage 
of the circumstances, buy at what is practically 
their own figure. The expressman will put up 
no argument with them and will not move on 
to another place but concludes the sale then 
and there. Franklin wrote: " If you want a 
thing done well, do it yourself." If you wish 
your squabs sold properly, sell them yourself; 
you are the interested party and don't think 
that anybody else will fight your battles for 
you. 

The man who sold the squabs for $3 a dozen 
made his profit because his intelligence was 
superior to the breeder's. It is a case of 
knowledge and skill every time when squabs 
are marketed. It seems incredible that the 
original breeder was a member of our associa- 
tion. 

Some might ask: Was not the commission 
man to blame for buying the squabs so cheaply? 
Did he not rob the breeder? It is business, and 
honorable business, to buy in the cheapest and 
sell in the dearest market. The breeder was to 
blame, if anybody, in giving up his squabs so 
cheaply. He would not have done so, had he 
known that another breeder would step in and 
buy, and again sell, at a profit. This lack of 



knowledge on the part of any squab breeder is 
easily remedied by joining the National Squab 
Breeders' Association, subscribing for the mag- 
azine, reading it every month, and remem- 
bering what he reads. The subscription price 
of the magazine for a year can be saved on 
every dozen of squabs marketed if the reader 
will sell as we have instructed him to sell. 

HOW I CATCH MATES THROUGH PEEP- 
HOLES, by Arthur H. Penny. I have been in 
the squab business four years, and have learned 
by hard experience a few things that may help 
others just beginning. From my observation, 
and what I have learned from hotel stewards, 
commission men, too, I believe that Homers are 
much the best for the squab breeder, unless 
he has very fancy private trade. My squabs 
bring $4 a dozen for all weighing seven pounds 
to the dozen and over, and I find this a very 
good price. If I had all ten and twelve-pound 
squabs, I could not hope to get very much more 
for them, and taking into consideration the 
greater amount of feed required for the larger 
birds, and the fewer squabs produced, I consider 
the Homers more profitable. I have never seen 
described my method of mating, which has 
proven easy and satisfactory. I have several 
pens for the youngsters that are boarded all 
around, with a peep-hole, close by a slide in each 
door. When the birds are mating, I watch 
them through the peep-hole, and when I see a 
pair together in a nestbox, building a nest, I 
walk in on them quickly, and almost always 
catch one in each hand. If I am not certain I 
have the right ones, I let them go and try again. 
For this method, rather a small pen is best, and 
not more than one hundred birds in a pen. 

COST PER PAIR FOR ME, $1.60 A YEAR, 

by G. Allan Sorrick. During the first week in 
March, with a pen of eighteen working pairs, I 
endeavored to ascertain the cost of feeding a 
pair of breeders for a year with feed per bushel 
as follows: Corn .80, wheat $1.20, peas $1.59, 
millet $1.38, buckwheat $1.11, grit $1.50 per 
100. Total pounds fed 30 3-4, cost 57 cents, or 
$1.60 a pair a year. One year ago I made the 
same test, result $1.80 a pair. I credit the 
difference to buying feed in larger quantities, 
and a different method of feeding. The Pitts- 
burg wholesale prices to jobbers and retailers, 
which are an advance over prices paid to pro- 
ducers and shippers, were from December 1 to 
April $5.50 and $5.75. Newspaper market 
quotations $4.75 and $5. 

Few squabhouses are heated. Cold air, if 

?ure, will not hurt pigeons if they are well fed. 
t is customary for the old birds to hover their 
young more closely during freezing weather. 
If the pigeons are not broken in to cold weather 
you will find some frozen squabs in the squab- 
house if you forget and leave the windows open 
on such a flock some night in zero weather. 
The Squab Magazine has printed articles 
written by Canadian breeders telling how they 
breed squabs through the winter as well as 
the summer in houses built of cotton cloth. 



3S6 



APPENDIX G 




TWO KINDS OF SQUABS. 

The top picture shows Homer squabs ten days 
pair of Carneaux squabs almost four weeks old. 
closer to the Homers than to the Carneaux, so 
proportionately.) 

I received the Plymouth Rock Carneaux ten 
days ago and the other goods a few days before 
the arrival of the birds. Everything came to 
me in good shape and is satisfactory in every 
way. I am not much given to making testi- 
monials, but I want to say that the birds you 
sent me are fine, indeed much better than I ex- 
pected, or bargained for. Ycu advised me 
that you had now no solid yellow birds, so I was 
much surprised to find one fine yellow ccck and 
three other birds so nearly solid yellow that the 
white can be seen only by close examination. 
I made two entries in the pigeon show I told 
you about, and won first in class of five. Some 
of the pairs have already gone to work and have 
eggs, although they are in the moult. — C. R. 
Deardorff, Indiana. 



Since quail can no longer be 
served at California hotels and 
cafes, fine, fat squabs are 
filling the place at first-class 
tables. A large squab plant 
about sixty miles from San Fran- 
cisco has a contract for all its 
squabs (large varieties), killed 
and feathers off, at $5.50 per 
dozen. Another gets $5 alive 
the year around. When we con- 
sider that these birds are but 
four or five weeks old, and re- 
quire little or no care except 
that the parent birds are well 
fed and watered, it certainly 
looks well for this growing busi- 
ness. It pays, like any busi- 
ness, to raise the best. When 
people ship little, half-fed, half- 
feathered, black-meated squabs, 
bred from small stock, there is 
small profit, and no satisfaction 
to seller, dealer or consumer. 
The San Francisco papers have 
all summer quoted squabs at 
$2 to $2.50 per dozen, but hun- 
dreds of shippers have been 
getting from $3 to $5 right 
through, according to size and 
quality. They pay better than 
chickens. One squab plant in 
Sonoma County sends as high 
as 700 fat squabs per month to 
San Francisco. — W. A. Bolton, 
California. 

I am shipping Plymouth 
Rock squabs to a hotel in Ind- 
iana. They give me $3.75 a 
dozen. They wanted me to sell 
them by the pound, offering 
me so much for twelve pounds, 
but I made one shipment of 
sixteen Homer squabs that 
weighed twelve pounds, and 
old: the bottom a ^^gy we re so well pleased with 
(The camera was them, that I finally got $3.75 
they look larger per dozen to start, and I think 
I can contract with them for 
about $4.50 per dozen the year 
round. The parties I deal 
with send me a check on the first and fif- 
teenth of each month. They will accept even 
half a dozen squabs at one time. The express 
charges on my shipments are only twenty-five 
cents. — Mrs. Ida Kosman, Indiana. 

In South Bend, the people like squabs very 
much, but they do not want to pay more than 
$3 per dozen. I sold some squabs in Chicago 
last summer at $3 per dozen. I paid the mer- 
chandise express rate for dressed squabs until 
we got a new agent. I asked him what the 
express rate on dressed squabs was. He 
looked it up and found that they go at the 
general special rate, which is less than mer- 
chandise rate. — W. O. Bunch, Indiana. 



APPENDIX G 



387 



CHICAGO $4.50 A DOZEN, by Stewart Gal- 
braith. Send the National Squab Magazine 

for another year. I like it and prize it next 
to the National Standard Squab Book, 

which taught me how to raise squabs at a profit. 

I live in a suburb of Chicago and get $4.50 a 
dozen for my squabs twenty-five to thirty 
days old, not picked, no express charges, and 
although I have about one hundred breeders, 

I cannot begin to supply the demand. I have 
only the best Plymouth Rock Homers. I use 
a prepared pigeon feed only, costing $2 a 
hundred in half-ton lots delivered. I have an 
iron kitchen sink sunk in the pigeon fly. The 
fly is forty-four by forty, nine feet high, and 
as I have the garden hose attached to faucet 
in basement and running to this sink with 
water running slowly all times (except very 
cold weather) and keep a solution of perman- 
ganate of potash in the water, I don't know 
what canker is. Put one-quarter ounce perman- 
ganate of potash in a pint bottle of water and 
use about one teaspoonful of this solution to 
one gallon of water. 

HOMERS ARE WORTHY THEIR HIGH 
PLACE, by Harry M. Samson. Only too often 
the opportunity presents itself for the man with 
a fairly productive loft of Homers and kindred 
breeds to launch out upon the sea of uncer- 
tainty by becoming interested in some of the 
larger varieties of squab producers. There are 
about as many varieties of large squab pro- 
ducers as there are hairs on a dog's tail, some 
good, others fairly so and many absolutely 
worthless. It is not size that counts, but the 
breeding qualities. An old breeder quoted 
something that seems to ring true, viz., " Other 
birds may come and other birds may go, but 
the Homer keeps on forever." Go where you 
will, one finds the Homer in evidence. 

The safe way in shipping is to have a tag of 
your own printed something as follows: "PLY- 
MOUTH ROCK SQUABS, from JOHN 
JONES, COLLIERS, WEST VIRGINIA, 
PERISHABLE RUSH, FOR " and then write 
plainly in ink or indelible pencil the full name 
and address of the consignee, being sure to put 
on his street address and spell out in full the 
name of his state. Inside the box put your in- 
voice, with your name and address in full 
printed on it, and send him by mail a letter 
telling him what and when you are shipping, 
with duplicate invoice. 

Sometimes irresponsible grain dealers will 
doctor peas, and actually make them poisonous 
for pigeons. Some of the least scrupulous will 
go so far as to take a lot of cracked corn or other 
grain wh'ch is green with mould and dye it 
yellow, ouch grain will make pigeons sick and 
kill squabs. Cases of sickness and deaths in 
the squabhouse are in nine cases out of ten 
traceable to the grain. One must be observing 
to detect such bad grain and it is not to be 
wondered that other causes are imagined. 
The remedy is to buy grain only of reliable 
dealers. 



HOW TO FASTEN WIRE NETTING, by 
W. O. Bunch. Take No. 12 galvanized wire 
and with a pair of common pliers in the right 
hand and the wire in the left make a ring about 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Then 
cut off and make another, or as many as you 
want. These little rings should be open enough 
so that you can easily put one around the two 
outside wires of the poultry netting. Then with 
the pliers pinch the little rings together. An 
other nice way is to take hog rings and with hog 
ringers you can fasten the netting together 
very quickly and neatly. 

Question: In my flock of thirty-five pairs 
of Homers which at one time were all mated 
and at work, eight pairs have broken up and 
taken other mates. One male bird has raised 
squabs with three females, and built a nest 
with one, leaving her before she laid eggs, 
making four matings for him in eight months, 
or less. Is this customary? Answer: In 
every flock there are exceptions to the rule. 
For that reason, no seller can give mated 
pairs whose matings are guaranteed to hold 
absolutely. I think it is a mistake, as I have 
many times written, to advertise mated pairs 
guaranteed, for pigeons themselves settle 
such matters. Moreover, if one sells what 
he calls guaranteed mated pairs, this means, 
in the mind of a rascal, that the buyer can hold 
the seller responsible for profits he might have ' 
made if certain pairs had held continuously 
together, instead of readjusting, as in the 
above case. That may seem to be far-fetched, 
but I have seen it tried. The most satisfactory 
way to sell pigeons is to let the customer try 
them for a while and, if he is not pleased with 
them, exchange them, or refund his money. 
That certainly is fair both to buyer and seller. 
Anybody who would guarantee the flirtings 
and other love affairs of a pair of pigeons in a 
pen with many other pigeons has quite a con- 
tract on his hands. It has been my experience 
that those who were the most insistent in 
guaranteeing such matters have been the slow- 
est in performance. They rectified nothing 
and in the end, ninety-nine per cent of them 
went out of business. The reasons pigeons 
look for new mates occasionally are the same 
as one sees every day in the human family. 
The rule among humans, as among pigeons, is 
that of one wife, one husband, nevertheless 
there are sailors with a sweetheart in every 
port, and railroad men with wives at both ends 
of the line. — Elmer C. Rice. 

In Savannah there is great interest in pigeons. 
The Homers and Carneaux have full sway 
down here. They are raised mostly for pets 
and not for commercial purposes. The Homer 
squabs bring from $4.50 to $5.00 a dozen and 
the matured birds about $3.00 a pair. The 
Carneaux bring $6.00 a dozen for the squabs. 
The matured birds are $5.00 a pair straight. 
The demand exceeds the supply and it is a 
pity that some large plant is not established 
here. The hotels sell the squabs as quail. — 
Timothy F. Sullivan, Georgia. 



388 



APPENDIX G 




THE PERCY PERKINS ENERGIZER. 

The inventor finds use for this excellent machine almost daily, 
in his work among the squabs. 



SPLENDID MACHINE FOR THOSE WHO 
SELL SQUABS AT LESS THAN COST, by 
Percy Perkins. Every squab breeder should 
make use of cheap and simple appliances to 
help him in his work. A little ingenuity in 
such matters will save him considerable _ ex- 
pense. I send herewith a sketch of a little 
device which I find exceedingly useful in 
producing animation in the breeder. It stimu- 
lates the thought cells and, incidentally, 
humiliates the spirit. I have found it helpful 
in cases like the following, for example. Our 
butcher called me on the telephone and said 
he would buy a few dozen squabs if the price 
was right. I asked him what he considered 
the right price. He replied in turn by asking 
me what it cost me to raise a dozen squabs. 
As I have not raised any yet* I was in some 
doubt, not to say perplexity, but I promptly 
rejoined that each batch cost me, as near as I 
could figure, about two dollars a dozen. There- 
upon he said he would give me $2.10 a 
dozen, which would allow me a profit of five 
per cent, which is more than government 
bonds pay. I told him his argument was 
good and that I would accept and give him a 
few dozen at his price. He asked how soon 
I could send them and I was obliged to reply 
that I would not have any ready for market 
until probably about February, 1912, as I 
was experimenting with a lot of young birds 
and wondering how many cocks and hens 
there were, and when it would be likely that 
they might reach adult age. He hung up 
the receiver with a fearful oath and I then 
repaired to the corner of the squabhouse 
where I have my machine set up, and exercised 
violently with it for half an hour, to remove 
the vexation caused by my failure to make 
that five per cent profit. I think the price 
the butcher offered me was a very fair one, 
as it would have enabled me to see several 
dollars which I could view in no other way. 



A word of appreciation from a 
conscientiously handled and well 
satisfied patient never made me mad 
yet. Possibly a little of the same 
thing from a customer of yours 
won't hurt your business feelings 
any. Six months ago I bought 
your Manual. Before that I knew 
as much about breeding squabs as 
you do about medicine, and prob- 
ably less. After reading it over 
three times I ordered three pairs 
of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, 
which arrived April 14, 1911. 1. 
From these three pairs in just six 
months I got the following results, 
viz: Seven and a half pairs killed 
for personal use and sale, one and 
a half pairs banded, two pairs eggs 
in nest now, besides one egg broken 
in two different nests, and parent 
birds deserted nests. 2. From six 
pairs Extra Homers bought of you 
May 4, 1911: Twelve and a half 
pairs killed, two and a half pairs 
banded, two pairs eggs deserted, 
one pair in nest. 3. From six pairs bought 
of you June 8, 1911 : Nine pairs killed, one and 
a half pairs banded, one pair eggs deserted, 
one pair in nest. For the squabs killed I 
have received on an average one dollar per 
pair. The squabs I banded were all very 
large. Kept and moved to a separate pen to 
mate and save for breeders. I have fed whole 
corn, kaffir corn, red wheat, cracked corn, 
Canada peas, barley, and twice a week rice and 
hempseed, feeding twice daily, except when I 
didn't get home before dark, which happens 
about twice a week. My birds have had no 
lice or disease, and are strong and vigorous. 
The house is cleaned weekly, and they have a 
bath in the middle of every pleasant day, also 
a constant supply of rock salt, fresh water, hard 
grit and fine oyster shell. Average time I 
spend every day is about ten minutes morning 
and afternoon, feeding and watering, and two 
hours once a week cleaning squabhouse. This 
is a greenhorn record of a small squab plant 
that is a source of recreation and pleasure, and 
a fair return to a man who is decidedly not mak- 
ing a business of squab raising. If my birds 
go through the winter safely, I shall give you 
a good order in the spring, for I can handle three 
times as many as I have now with little or no 
more demand upon my time. — Dr. Howell S. 
Bontecou, New York. 

Your Manual has been of the greatest assist- 
ance to me, and since adopting your methods 
and style of housing, a great improvement 
has taken place in my pigeons, although I 
am anxious as soon as possible to get some of 
your birds, as the demand for squabs is grow- 
ing here, and will be just as profitable here in 
the course of a year or two as in America. I 
have the best birds it is possible to get here. 
I have 170 pairs with accommodations for 400 
pairs. I want to send for some of your stock. 
— D. R. MacDonald, Australia. 



APPENDIX G 



389 



HOW A MARYLAND WOMAN COOKS 
SQUABS, by Mrs. Clara M. Hodson. I 

recently furnished the squabs and recipe for 
preparing them for a spring luncheon. I 
cannot always fill my orders for fresh birds. 
Here are two of my squab recipes: 

Grandma's Pigeon Pie. 

When I was a little girl, I went from the city 
every summer to visit my grandparents, living 
on a large farm on a beautiful river in Mary- 
land. There was an old mill on this place of 
the Dutch type of wind gristmills. It had 
gone to decay and become a rookery or pigeon 
loft. I would climb up and gather the young 
squabs in a basket and take them to my grand- 
mother, and then we would anxiously await 
dinner. This is the way she made it: After 
the bird had been shorn of feathers and drawn, 
it was split down the back with a sharp knife 
and pressed flat, or cut in half, as many pre- 
ferred half a bird, and it serves better. Placing 
the birds in a large stewing kettle, she covered 
them with water, cut up a very small onion, 
and a tablespoonful of minced parsley. This 
she added with salt, and a tiny piece of red 
pepper pod, tc the cooking birds, about ten 
or fifteen minutes cooking. 

Having made a nice pastry, she lined a large 
round baking pan with it, and put in the birds 
and stock. Adding a large lump of butter, half 
a cup of flour for thickening, and a cupful of 
rich milk or cream, she would cover the whole 
with fine pastry, touching here and there with a 
little butter, and bake until it was a golden 
brown, serving very hot at the midday dinner 
with fresh vegetables and plenty of fruit. 
About it there are pleasant memories. 

Roast Squab with Peas. 

Select medium-sized, fat squabs, draw and 
wash thoroughly, cleansing the mouth and bill 
carefully. Tuck the head under the left wing, 
bending wings close to the sides of the birds. 
Make an incision in which to tuck the legs, 
after cutting off the feet. Stuff the birds with 
minced celery (or minced celery and bread- 
crumbs), salt and pepper birds and rub with 
butter and a little flour. Place them in a 
shallow baking pan with just enough water to 
keep them from burning, and roast about 
twenty minutes in a hot oven, frequently bast- 
ing with the juices drawn from the birds. Serve 
whole or individual plates with a garnish of 
water cress and two tablespoonfuls of sifted 
or very small peas. Celery gives the flavor of 
the canvasback duck to the squab, and the 
whole makes a very acceptable spring luncheon. 

Question: Please tell me the proper propor- 
tion of grain to feed my pigeons, so as to obtain 
the largest squabs. My squabs although they 
have been as large as a pound apiece when 
four weeks old, now scarcely weigh half of that. 
Answer: The feed has a great deal to do with 
the weight of the squabs. If your squabs are 
running light, you should cut down your 
wheat and feed more corn, Canada peas and 
bread crumbs, all of which are fattening. 



HOW I STARTED A BOYS' PIGEON 
CLUB, by Reuben Brigham. Knowing how 
much pigeons have meant to me, I have been 
always glad to help other boys to learn to care 
for them and stick to them. About a year ago, 
the pigeon craze struck the boys in this Mary- 
land neighborhood, and I helped organize the 
Sandy Spring Pigeon Club with thirteen charter 
members, all being boys under twenty-one 
excepting myself. Our object was "to encour- 
age the keeping of pigeons in this neighbor- 
hood and to promote the more intelligent and 
profitable care of those already in our posses- 
sion." We agreed to meet every other Friday 
night and to admit only bona fide pigeon 
keepers. Strangely enough, after the first en- 
thusiasm waned, the attendance and interest 
continued and it is rare that more than one or 
two members are absent. Minutes are read, 
short papers are written and delivered, and pig- 
eon papers subscribed to and studied. 

MUSLIN WINDOWS FOR ME, NO GLASS, 
by W. E. Blakslee. Last fall we put up on our 

new mountain site a building for our Plymouth 
Rock squab breeders, two hundred feet long, 
twenty-four feet wide, with a four-foot wide 
alleyway lengthwise in the center. Over this 
alleyway the whole length of the building is a 
lantern with windows in its sides. All the doors 
for the pens are only frames. The ones on the 
alleyway are covered with wire. The outside 
ones opening into the flying yards are covered 
with muslin. The windows in the lantern are 
also frames covered with muslin. At each end 
of the alleyway is a tight-boarded door swing 
ing out for winter use, and a wired frame door 
swinging in for summer use. The way the 
doors and windows are arranged makes sure 
of no direct circulation across the nestboxes. 
There are no drafts from the use of muslin, but 
we do plan not to have any direct line of circula- 
tion across the nests. Our building is on posts 
six feet above the ground. The floor is double 
boarded with paper between. This gives a 
thorough ventilation underneath and the whole 
building is perfectly free from any ground 
dampness whatever. 

Just two years ago I bought four pairs of 
Plymouth Rock Homers and ten pairs of Ply- 
mouth Rock Carneaux. I have thirty-five 
pairs of Homers (sold all the rest for squabs) 
and four hundred Carneaux — sold seventy- 
three. So you can see that for a beginner I 
have done fairly well. I never have sold a 
squab for less than twenty-five cents, and never 
had enough of them to supply my neighbors. 
I have just bought five acres and hope to build 
up a good business. Will want more birds 
before the first of the year. — W. C. Barrett, 
California. 

Have some cards printed with " Eat Squabs 
and Stay Young " on them. Send these to all 
the women in town who are financially able 
to eat such; and explain in brief why squabs 
are the best meat. Be sure that you have an 
extra supply on hand when you do this. 



390 



APPENDIX G 





MR. STEWARD AND HIS BIG PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMEK 



SQUAB BREEDING FOR A STAY-AT- 
HOME MAN, by Charles E. Steward. Three 
years ago today I was stricken with heart 
trouble and not being able to do any work 
of any account, I sat around the house and 
did nothing but worry about my trouble so 
I thought I would get a few pairs of Homers 
to keep my mind occupied. I sent to Boston 
for twenty-five pairs of Homers and one pair 
of Carneaux. Today I have two hundred 
Homers and twenty Carneaux. Last summer 
I kept eighty youngsters for breeders, all 
banded, and left them to choose mates for 
themselves. Out of the eighty I got thirty- 
seven pairs, and six odd mates. The best 
part of it was there were no nestmates that 
went together. I put twenty-five pairs of 
these young birds in a pen by themselves. 
Today, June 21, I counted forty-eight young 
ones and nineteen eggs. This shows that 
some birds have both young and eggs. Can 
any one beat it? This shows that it pays to 
buy good stock to start with. As squab 
breeders I think the Plymouth Rock Homers 
can not be beat (if they have the attention). 
My birds get fresh water twice a day and all 
the green stuff they will eat, such as lettuce, 
horseradish leaves and dandelion. For nesting 
material I use tobacco stems and hay cut about 
six inches long. I notice that when you use 
only tobacco stems they become hard and 
dry in the nests and when a bird happens to 
Dear much weight on the eggs you will find a 
good many eggs broken with a little dent or 
crack, and won't hatch. This is because there 



is no " give " in the tobacco 
stems. When it is dry, mix 
hay or straw with your tobacco 
stems and see if you haven't 
less broken eggs. 

My first squabs I sold all 
sizes for $3 per dozen. I am 
now selling eight-pound squabs 
at $5, nine-pound squabs at 
$6, twelve-pound squabs at $8 
per dozen, less express and com- 
mission. I have nothing in my 
pens breeding less than six pairs 
per year, averaging nine to 
twelve pounds per dozen. The 
Carneau-Homer cross makes a 
large squab, also Maltese- 
Homer, but I would not like to 
keep them for breeders because 
a well-established bieed is so 
much moie reliable in reproduc- 
ing its characteristics. — Mrs. W. 
A. Roth, Indiana. 

I have been in the squab 
business for some time and have 
done fairly well, but after visit- 
ing a number of small plants 
find they all use the Plymouth 
Rock Homers. Now what I 
want to know is if ycu will trade 
me Extra Homers for forty or 
fifty pairs of red and splashed 
Carneaux, most of the Carneaux I have 
being from parent stock that came from 
you and bought by a doctor of my town. I 
want to put in these two pens and buy them, 
and if satisfactory I will sell my other breeds 
and replace with your Homers. One of your 
customers was at my house last evening and he 
told me that your Homers are certainly first 
class, and of course I want the best. — George 
Sisco, New Jersey. 

HOW I SAVE MONEY BY FEEDING 
BREAD, by Charlton Green. I have been 
feeding bakers' discarded bread, crushed dry 
or moistened. The pigeons like clean bread 
and white bread better than rye bread. 
Besides bread, I feed about half a pound of 
Indian corn each day. I find the bread an 
excellent feed for squabs that are just out of 
the nest. They learn to eat it much quicker 
and easier than they do grain. I have noticed 
squabs in nests with it also. I believe it is 
as good for squabs in nest as it is for the older 
squabs or youngsters. I don't believe a better 
feed could be fed to youngsters. The bread 
costs me one cent a loaf, or from $1.00 to $1.10 
per one hundred pounds. 

Take a piece of paper, wrap it around a 
pencil, glue and pull the pencil out, dip the 
paper in pulverized sulphur, hold the mouth 
of the bird open with thumb and first finger, 
and blow the contents down the bird's neck 
once a day for a day or two, and the canker is 
gone. — Harry Wesner, Pennsylvania. 



APPENDIX G 



391 



PEA VINES ARE BEST NESTING MA- 
TERIAL, by C. S. Persons. In nesting 
material I have used nearly everything, and I 
have found that the common pea vines which 
every one raises in gardens and throws away 
or burns are their choice. They will leave any- 
thing else for them. After I have used the 
peas I pull up the vines and thoroughly dry 
them, then cut them in lengths of about six 
inches, leaving as many of the leaves on as 
will stay. Sweet pea vines are equally as 
good. 

In regard to green food, clover, lettuce and 
Swiss chard are their favorites and a fine tonic 
as well. A ten-cent package of Swiss chard 
(or cut-and-come-again spinach) will feed seven 
hundred birds from June until the third or 
fourth frost, as it is very hardy. They will pick 
the stems clean and leave only the stalks. I 
feed lettuce the year round, in winter buying 
it by the crate once a week. I feed clover 
through the summer. 

With regard to a market for squabs, the 
Chicago commission men are paying from 
$2.75 to $3.25. I do not blame the commis- 
sion men for buying at these figures but I do 
blame the producer for selling, for with every- 
thing as high as it now is, and after deducting 
express charges and labor, what has the breeder 
made? He has simply lost money, and the 
commission man is getting the benefit of the 
failure to hustle. 

HOW TO WASH OUT THE SQUABS' 
CROPS, by Henry Blake. A handy and quick 
way for cleaning the grain out of crops when 
washing squabs is easily arranged if you have 
piped water supply. Have a fitting made to 
screw on the bib-cock. One can go to the ex- 
pense of having a special fitting made. A 
cheap way is to tinker one up by using an old 
hose coupling. Solder a piece of bent small 
tubing into it. 

To use it, hold the bird's head down, putting 
its mouth over the tube, set the water running 
slowly, work the bird up and down a few times, 
so the tube goes well up into the crop, and the 
job is done. If one does not have the water 
pipe, he can use an elevated reservoir either 
hung up or put up on a bracket. 

I stew squabs until tender and done, in 
water seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. 
I bake biscuits a delicate brown at the same 
time, being careful not to make them too 
thick. Take up the meat, add a little milk to 
the soup, being careful not to put in enough 
to weaken it, add salt, butter and pepper to 
taste; thicken with flour, making a medium 
thick gravy. Split the hot biscuits and add 
to this hot gravy. When well saturated take 
up and place hot squabs on top. Serve. De- 
licious! I have used in this way, too, rabbits 
and chickens. — Mrs. Dora B. Badger, Washing- 
ton. 

Do not keep extra small squabs for breeders 
just because their parents are fine birds — all 
birds will raise offs sometimes. 



NOT TRUE TO COLOR, by Ralph Walker. 

I have a pair of Homers, the male being pure 
white, and the female black all over except 
one white feather in the back and a few on each 
leg. I have had only one pair of squabs from 
them that were of the exact color of the par- 
ents, and they were of different hatchings. 
Even then the male was white and the female 
black. Among the pigecns raised from them 
I have had the following color combinations: 
Dark brown, female; several light red pigeons, 
both sexes; heavy booted, solid silver female; 
black with white on tips of wings and at base 
of tail and various other places, both sexes: 
light brown with dark brown bars, female; and 
also a big dark blue cock with a shiny red blue 
breast. Don't you think this is a pretty good 
color combination? 

Question: Of ./hat value are pigeon fairs 
and exhibitions in advertising to sell breeding 
stock? Are the money prizes enough induce- 
ment to go to the expense of exhibiting? An- 
swer: The value of pigeon and poultry exhibi- 
tions as an advertising medium is something 
to the breeder who relies for sales on persons 
who come to visit him and look at his stock, 
but such results are practically nothing in 
comparison to the results obtained from peri- 
odical and newspaper advertising. Pigeon 
and poultry shows are an interesting neighbor- 
hood enjoyment, bringing good stock of each 
section together for comparison and gossip. 
The money prizes are never of themselves of 
any particular value, certainly not enough to 
recompense one for the time and effort ex- 
pended. One should go into a poultry and 
pigeon show with the idea of making a week of 
enjoyment for himself and his family, meeting 
others, seeing what they are doing, etc., but 
not with the idea of making himself rich or 
famous, for that never is accomplished by 
exhibitions alone. 

Question: I have been reading a story 
written by a woman who lost money raising 
poultry and squabs and her figures of produc- 
tion do not agree with those given in a bulletin 
which I have. Answer: That is why she failed. 
It is always assumed, in such writings, that 
intelligence, skill and industry are factors,_ but 
one who fails in these branches is seldom either 
intelligent, skilful or industrious. 

I have benefited much from the Magazine 
and am selling my own squabs to private trade 
for fifty cents each, dressing five cents extra, 
and ten cents for delivery; Carneaux squabs 
one dollar each, and have all I can do. Ply- 
mouth Rock stock. — Miss Marion S. Baker, 
Massachusetts. 

The general wholesale quotations on squabs 
here (San Francisco) range from $3.00 to 
$3.50 per dozen, although some extra large 
would bring $3.75. They can be handled 
better alive than dressed at present. Trade 
would prefer to do their own dressing. — Har- 
baugh & Co. (Wholesale Dealers), California. 



392 



APPENDIX G 




A PEN OF FIRST-CLASS HOMERS. 



SQUAB COST AND PROFIT, by H. C. 

Frankforter. For the last few years I and a 
friend of mine have been raising squabs and 
find that there is profit as well as pleasure de- 
rived from them. We buy feed from a Balti- 
more firm which costs us till we get the freight 
paid $2.25 a hundredweight. We have tried it 
on a separate pair of Homers and find that they 
ate nine cents worth of the feed from the day 
the young were hatched until they were salable, 
so we made it fifteen cents for labor, feed and 
health grit. We receive from $3 to $3.25 a 
dozen for our squabs, so you can see that the 
profit would be from thirty to forty cents on 
one pair of squabs. 

" Market reports " are generally furnished to 
the newspapers by the produce exchanges and 
in every case are not a record of true transac- 
tions, as are the stock exchange reports, but 
are the lowest prices which the members of 
these exchanges hope to pay for chickens, 
squabs, fruit, potatoes, etc. If you live in a 
city where such inspired quotations for eatables 
are being printed, write to the editor and tell 
him that as a subscriber to his paper you object 
to such information as being misleading and 
untruthful, and published in the interest of the 
marketmen, with no thought of the producer. 
This will help to bring about a much needed 
reform. Not every newspaper will stand for 
such " market reports " nonsense. The best 
send out a man or woman reporter to shop and 
write what they find. Prices of eatables ob- 
tained in any other way are rhaccurate and 
false. If there are any squab or chicken breed- 
ers who are fooled into selling at such low prices 
simply because they have seen those quotations 
" in print," they ought to have a guardian. 
Get your retail prices by actual shopping and 
then make a fair deduction to get at the whole- 
sale prices. 



DURABLE WHITEWASH. A whitewash 
adopted by the United States Government and 
used for coating light-houses and keepers' 
dwellings, is composed as follows: To ten 
parts of freshly slaked lime add one part of 
best hydraulic cement. Mix well with salt 
water. This whitewash when properly mixed 
and applied, produces a clear white that does 
not easily rub or wash off. 

I sell all my squabs to private families and 
sell all I raise. In winter time the prices run 
from $4.50 to $5.50, in summer $3.50 to $4.50. 
Every Tuesday morning I 'phone to every 
customer one after another until I have my 
forty-seven customers called, and then I have a 
boy hired to deliver the squabs. I have a one- 
horse wagon, painted orange color, trimmed 
black, and have a very showy horse, which 
makes a good appearance. It looks very tidy. 
I feed a mixed ration which I buy for $28 a 
ton. I sold over 5700 squabs last year, took 
in $1575, cleared about $1000. Not so bad for 
the boy and me. — J. M. -Shellenberger, Penn- 
sylvania. 

I inquired the retail price of dressed squabs 
of Robert Barron, a Yonge Street fish and game 
dealer of Toronto. He informed me that the 
price was fifty cents each, or $6 a dozen. Mr. 
Shelts sells his squabs to the dealer whom I 
mention at $4 a dozen. There is a large de- 
mand for squabs in Toronto, as it is a city of 
400,000 people.— Charles Watson, Ontario. 

During the past fourteen years I have had 
considerable experience, always as a side line, 
in selling eatables to family trade, and the only 
way I ever succeeded in obtaining a customer 
was to go right after them. The personal 
face-to-face interview captures the trade. — 
Raymond W. Dotts, Pennsylvania. 



APPENDIX G 



393 



I FEED A GREAT DEAL OF SWISS 
CHARD, by Hugh Steele. The market here 
(Kansas) is not very good yet, but is improving. 
I think a few good marketmen would make it 
the equal of any, as with all the large cities 
surrounding us, and very strict game laws 
being made, the demand is sure to come very 
fast. Our grain market is rather high: wheat 
ninety cents, corn eighty cents, kaffir $1.50 
per hundred. Canada peas cost about $2 per 
bushel here and hemp sixteen pounds for $1. 
I feed a great deal of Swiss chard, which seems 
to be relished very much. A small bed will 
supply a large flock, as it is a very rank grower. 

GOOD SQUAB DEMAND AROUND 
PITTSBURG, by James G. Bennett. It costs 
me about $1.40 here (Pennsylvania) to feed a 
pair of breeding pigeons that raise from eight 
to ten pairs of squabs a year. That is the cost 
with good feed. Do not ever feed old or musty 
grain. In their free state, pigeons can select 
a variety of grain and seeds, but when they 
are kept in flying pens, they must, of course, take 
what they aie given. While you may have 
seeming success for a time feeding only cracked 
corn and wheat or any other two grains selected, 
yet a long continued feeding of such invariably 
fails to produce as many or as good squabs as 
when a properly balanced ration is provided. 
Always have oyster-shell and the best of grit 
before them, and I find it very healthful to mix 
a little air-slaked lime and Venetian red with 
their grit. The lime sweetens their crops and 
helps the same as oyster-shell in producing eggs. 
I find kerosene oil and turpentine in equal parts 
good for canker, two or three drops to a dose. 
There is a fine outlet for squabs in this section, 
Pittsburg being the main market. In fact all 
along the three rivers here there is a good sale 
for squabs, as there are so many hotels and 
clubhouses. The supply cannot more than 
half meet the demand. The price paid by the 
wholesalers in Pittsburg is $5.25 a dozen for 
twelve-pounds-to-the-dozen squabs. 

ONE BOY'S WORK, by Roland Ralph. 

There is not a very good squab market in 
Richmond, Va., but I can make two hundred 
pairs pay me a good profit. I have made 
twelve hundred dollars clear profit out of three 
chicken incubators, twenty-two turkeys and 
a small root beer plant on two acres of ground, 
which father gave me, and I worked only after 
school and vacation time. 

I am situated near the city of Chicago, and I 
think I have a golden opportunity facing me. 
Upon having a personal interview with a stew- 
ard of a certain hotel in Chicago, I was informed 
that squabs were as high as $7.50 per dozen this 
summer. The commission merchants were 
paying $3.50 last week. — W. G. Puis, Illinois. 

I bought thirteen pairs of Plymouth Rock 
Homers, part of them a little over a year ago, 
and the others will be two years this fall. I now 
(June, 1910) have 250 all told.— R. C. Brenmer, 
Illinois. 



HOMERS BREED BETTER IN DARK- 
ENED PEN, by Richard L. Fishburne. I have 
found by experience that my breeders do better 
work in a loft slightly darkened. My build- 
ings face south, are 10xl5x 10 feet, with a 
fly about the same size for each pen. Around 
the fly I have planted sunflowers and sweet 
peas which add to the attractiveness of the 
place, at the same time affording shade for 
the birds, keep dampness from the fly and loft 
and give me a quantity of feed. Once each 
week my lofts are scraped and sprayed with 
a ten per cent solution of creolin, and air-slaked 
lime scattered on the floors. A few applica- 
tions of this solution will soon saturate the 
wood and positively prevent any lice in the 
lofts. About once or twice a week in the sum- 
mer I use a small quantity of creolin in the 
bath water and in spraying any birds or squabs 
that are near, spray without injury or frighten- 
ing them. 

The reason Plymouth Rock Homers are so 
popular is that the squabs they produce are 
good enough for any market. In many hands, 
skilful in feeding and selection, they do the 
work of more expensive breeds costing three 
times as much, and more. We have a letter 
dated August 23 from a customer in Connecti- 
cut, John N. Moeller by name, stating: " I 
intend to purchase a piece of property and erect 
a large plant and buy stock of you as soon as I 
find a satisfactory place to sell squabs in large 
lots,_ and regularly. As already stated in 
previous correspondence, I have raised twenty 
squabs from three pairs since March 12, 1910, 
and every one weighed one pound alive at four 
weeks of age." Mr. Moeller does not say that 
some weigh a pound apiece, or that the average 
weight of his squabs is one pound. He states 
that every one weighed one pound. This is 
twelve pounds to the dozen. The sales of Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers are many times more than 
all other pigeons combined. 

As we have before written, always remem- 
ber that prices of pigeons mean nothing with- 
out service. We throw out twenty-five per 
cent of all our pigeons, sending them in as culls 
to market, where we get only the eating price. 
We don't put them into shipments and expect 
the customer to throw them out. Moreover, 
we don't keep our best pigeons. Every bird 
on our farm is for sale. Anybody who calls 
there and fancies a bird can take it away with 
him in a coop and we're glad to see it go. 

My present squab plant consists of 300 pairs 
Homers, and a few larger breeders, but no Car- 
neaux. I have been visiting various squab 
plants in the country, and know what a good 
Carneau is supposed to look like. Most oi 
the Carneaux that I have seen do not come up 
to what I call good Carneaux. The best that 
I have set my eyes on so far are those owned by 
M. C. Martin, and he told me that they were 
from you. Enclosed you will find a bank draft 
for which please send me the eleven pairs of 
Carneaux under the conditions stated. — J. E. 
Unruh, Kansas. 



394 



APPENDIX G 



MY PLANT MAKES $100 
MONTHLY PROFIT, by W. 
A. Bolton. The Sunny Slope 
Squab Farm is shown in the 
accompanying photograph. 
The writer having been inter- 
ested in pigeons since his 
school days, when he kept a 
few for pets, resolved in 1S08 
to make it a business and made 
his first mistake by sending to 
Europe for his Carneaux ar.d 
Homers, several hundred of 
them, with the result that atcut 
half of the birds died en route, 
or just after they arrived, lhey 
are splendid birds and after a 
few months tecan e recuperated 
and acclimated and proceeded 
to do their best, but if they 
had come from good reliable 
home breeders or eastern 
breeders, the results would 
doubtless have been much more 
satisfactory. Last year the 
plant practically paid for it- 
self. Today there are about 1400 birds at 
work, and taking care of some 1400 more 
young and old that will soon be at work, 
besides netting about $100 a month profit. 
The demand for breeding stock has been brisk 
since the squab price; dropped, so that but 
few squabs have gone vj market. 

Our Carneaux youngsters bring from $10 
to $15 per dozen and Homers to the market 
bring $3 in summer and $4 in winter. Next 
year, I expect to contract all our squabs at $5 
a dozen the year round, lot including the 
Carneaux which are likely to go for breeders as 
they always have done. 

I saw the books of one poultry dealer in 
San Francisco recently, showing where he 
gets $7 per dozen from one of his customers 
for large squabs. He pays $5 for the same, 
alive. 

The majority of raisers ship alive to San 
Francisco and Oakland, and the coops that 
produce best results are not over six inches 
high in the clear. This prevents the birds 
piling upon each other. 

BOSTON 1911 SQUAB PRICES. The 

following figures for 1911 taken from the Boston 
Globe show the prices for squabs from January 
to December of that year. The first price 
quoted in each case is for the poorer grade of 
squabs. The prices quoted highest in each 
case are for squabs bred from our Extra Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers and Carneaux. These 
figures show that the Boston squab market, 
like that in other cities, is steady all the year 
around at highly profitable prices, in no case 
falling below $3 a dozen, this price coming in 
the summer, when squabs may be sold at 
summer resorts in New England at prices 
equal to the best winter Boston city prices 
January 6, $5, $6.50; January 13, $5, $6 
January 20, $5.50, $6; January 27, $5, $7 
February 3, $5, $6; February 10, $5.50, $6.50 




A CALIFORNIA HILLSIDE SLOPE SQUAB FARM. 



March 3, $5, $6; March 19, $4.50, $6; March 
24, $5, $6; March 31, $5, $6; April 7, $5, $6; 
April 14, $4.50, $6; April 21, $4, $6; April 28, 
$4.50, $6; May 5, $4.50, $6; May 12, $4.50, $6; 
Mav 19, $4, $6; May 26, $4. $6; June 2, $4, 
$5.5'0; June 9, $3.50, $5.50; June 16, $3, $5; 
June 23, $3, $5; June 30, $3, $5; July 7, $3, $5; 
July 14, $5, $6; July 21, $3, $4.50; July 28, $3, 
$5; August 4, $4, $5; August 11, $3.50, $4.50; 
August 18, $3, $5.50; August 25, $3, $5; Sep- 
tember 1, $4, $5; September 8, $4, $5.50; 
September 15, $3.50, $4.50; September 22, 
$3.50, $4.50; September 29, $3.50 $4.50; Octo- 
ber 6, $3.50, $4.50; October 13, $3, $4.50; 
October 20, $4, $5.50; October 27, $4, $6; 
November 3, $4, $6; November 10, $4.50, $6; 
November 17, $4, $6; November 24, $4, $6; 
December 8, $4, $6; December 15, $4, $6. 

When a beginner, like Etwinoma Farms, 
takes 25 pairs of our Extra Homers worth $50 
and in two years multiplies them to 800 pairs 
worth $1600, do you realize that this is a big 
return? You can't put $50 into any bank and 
get $1600 back in two years. And remember, 
that in the two years squabs enough were sold 
to pay the entire running expenses of the 
plant. Fifty dollars increased to $1600 in two 
years is thirty-two hundred per cent increase. 
This is not theoretical, but is the record of 
something which actually has been accom- 
plished with our Plymouth Rock Extra Hom- 
ers. This is only one of nundreds of such 
phenomenal returns. 

After you have read this Manual, write us a 
letter telling us how you think it can be im- 
proved. Is anything lacking? What do you 
wish to know that is not covered here? We 
intend to keep the book full and complete 
from year to year and welcome suggestions for 
its improvement. Tell us what your plans for 
squab raising are and let us help you if we can. 



APPENDIX G 



395 



SQUAB MARKET UP IN SALT LAKE 
CITY, by J. H. Armstrong. I will try and 
tell you something of the squab and its market 
in Salt Lake City. It has been only within 
the past few years that the squab has had a 
place on the tables of our private families. 
Only the hotels and restaurants knew what 
it was to have squabs to serve to their fine 
trade, but today the squab will be found on 
the tables of those who can afford it, and, in 
fact, on the tables of a good many who can 
not. The squab of today is taking the place 
of the young chicken. The demand is growing 
and the " hello " for squabs is getting greater 
every day. I have only one hundred pairs 
and I cannot breed enough squabs to fill my 
orders, so I am buying from other parties, and 
even then my supply is limited; I cannot get 
enough. I am looking forward to the time 
when I will have two thousand squab breeders 
instead of two hundred. I am working slowly, 
but it is steady. 

This past week's market (July) has been 
good with prices as follows: 

8-lb. squabs per dozen, $3.00 hotel and 
restaurant. 

9-lb. squabs, $3.50 hotel and restaurant. 

10-lb. squabs, $4.00 hotel and restaurant. 

10-lb. to 11-lb. squabs per dozen, $4.50 to 
$6.00 family trade. 

These prices I have fought for the past three 
years (credit to the magazine) as I could not 
get other squab raisers to stay together on the 
prices until the last few months. 

New Yorkers are spenders, and money is no 
object when they desire something that appeals 
to their appetites. Go where you will, squabs 
will always be found on the bill of fare. The 
demand is simply enormous, as thousands of 
birds are consumed daily and the demand is 
continually on the increase. The trouble has 
been to obtain a sufficient quantity to supply 
the demand, and I have heard it stated that 
birds actually were imported to satisfy the 
demand for extra large squabs. Here is an 
excellent opportunity for the wide-awake, up- 
to-date breeder who is in a position to deliver 
first-class stock to the consumer direct. A 
veritable hidden treasure of practically un- 
limited profit awaits him. Just think of the 
prospects, with our industry still in its infancy. 
■ — Harry M. Samson, New York. 

We have been selling a few Plymouth Bock 
squabs in Louisville, Ky., at $3 a dozen. The 
men we sell to say they are the finest they ever 
handled. As soon as we can get enough to 
make regular shipments we intend to send 
them away, as we were offered $5 a dozen for 
them in June. We keep a strict account of all 
expenditures in our large single entry ledger 
and find it costs about ten cents per pair per 
month to feed them. — James C. Martin, Indi- 
ana. 

We have no ground oyster shells here, so 
we use ground clam shells. — Miss B. Devereux, 
British Columbia. 



EGGS AND SQUABS DUE TO CONDI- 
TIONING. I am inclined to think that there 
is such a thing as introducing too much red 
tape in this business of mating and tabbing 
birds so as to make the task too burdensome. 
It would be a nice thing if you would give us 
a line once in a while as indicating where system 
leaves off and red tape begins. — J. C. Broadwell, 
Oregon. Pigeons will breed naturally if you 
give them a chance and d they are in condition. 
Novices who have had no experience with 
poultry cannot be made to comprehend that 
the production of pigeon eggs is a study in 
conditioning, the same as the production of 
hen's eggs. Poultrymen also have their . 
matings but they know enough to look to 
condition and not to the sexual relations for 
eggs. Pigeons should be banded, but the 
system • of record keeping should be simple 
and end in the squabhouse, not be carried into 
evening work under the study lamp. The most 
important work, as the National Squab Maga- 
zine 'has demonstrated, is to sell the squabs 
intelligently. Squab breeders who fuss about 
the small matters never accomplish anything. 

TRANSFERRING BREEDERS, by Ida 
Dana. I have been transferring my breeders 
from the house in which they have been work- 
ing since I received them in May, to one better 
fitted for the winter. I have been careful to 
take each family when the youngest squabs 
were two weeks old, before the mother had 
started her new nest. When I placed the 
squabs in a nest in the same part of the new 
room as that occupied by their nest in the old 
room, the parents never failed to recognize and 
feed them. It was before I understood the 
necessity of this arrangement that one pair, 
neglecting their own squabs, fed those in the 
place in which theirs should have been. I 
granted their wish by putting their squabs into 
that box, and had no further trouble. 

FACTS ABOUT NEW YORK FRESH 
SQUABS, by William R. McLaughlin. I get 

a great many letters during the year from timid 
beginners and also from old breeders that in- 
dicate they fear to make heavy investments at 
the start or doubt the advisability of increasing 
their flock for fear of overstocking the market. 
To all such inquiries I urge ihem to go ahead 
and increase their flocks of bre^uers so that they 
can ship every few days from five to twenty- five 
dozen squabs at a time. They run no risk as 
to demand at good prices all the year round. 
They run no risk of overloading the market. 

I have had extraordinary success with Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers and am more than pleased 
with the results. I have met with ready sale 
for my squabs, and if I had the space would 
increase my flock. I sell my squabs locally 
and get $3 to $4.50 a dozen, in other words 
fifty to seventy-five cents a pair. My squabs 
will average in weight nine pounds to the dozen, 
in fact in some instances had them to weigh 
fifteen and sixteen ounces. — H. H. Kangeter, 
South Carolina. 



396 



APPENDIX G 



HOW I FEED HEALTH GRIT FRESH 
DAILY, by M. C. Martin. When I first 
started to feed health grit, as it was rather 
expensive, I was not very particular about the 
birds eating very much of it. So I would fill a 
covered trough with a good quantity. Result, 
pigeons would "go some" for it, when first 
put in the trough, but would soon eat the 
choice ingredients, and care little for the 
leavings. Also, after water was poured on 
for several days, the grit became packed and 
hard, and the birds would pay little attention 
to it. In this way a sack of grit lasted a long 
time. But I began to study my birds, and 
found that when they ate more grit, they were 
healthier and heartier. Then I began to 
experiment and after thorough trial have set- 
tled on the following method : 

Provide covered wooden troughs about four 
or six inches wide and two inches deep, and 
long enough for all the birds in each pen to 
eat at once. The top of the trough may be 
made so as to be lifted off or removed when 
putting grit in the trough. 

Once a day feed the grit in the covered 
troughs and the little birds will soon learn to 
come for it, and make more fuss about it than 
when you feed them hemp. Give them grit 
once a day just what they will eat up in a few 
minutes. 

With a little experimenting you can soon 
learn about how much is best for them. For, 
by this method, you can overfeed them easily. 

I use five-gallon cream cans to keep the grit 
in. Pour in a little water and keep closed, 
and in this way, the grit is always damp and 
moist, ready to feed. Grit should be bought 
in 500-pound or ton lots, thus saving on the 
freight bill. 

Now, as to the reasons for using health 
grit. I find the iron in it enriches the blood 
corpuscles. The small sea-shells, which _ it 
contains, I have noted, make better hatching 
eggs, as too much crude lime, contained in 
oyster shells, makes the eggshells have large 
white deposits on them, causing the eggs to 
be easily broken. Such eggs seldom hatch, and 
if they do, the " peepers " usually die. An- 
other thing I have noticed is that the birds 
seldom if ever have sour crop, a common 
ailment without a liberal use of grit. 

If you follow the method I have explained 
here, be careful you do not feed too much. 
A good, large handful once a day is sufficient 
for a flock of thirty birds. The other way 
of feeding as used by most squab men is to 
put a large quantity in a covered trough and 
leave it a number of days until it is all eaten up. 

SAVES WIRING TIME, by Louis A. Hart. 

Instead of the old method of tying every other 
mesh of the wire netting with a short wire, or 
even running a long wire all the way through 
the entire length of strand, just take an eight- 
penny nail and twist it around the two wires 
three or four times, causing the wires to weave 
together the same as the rest of the netting. 
It is very fast," also simple and entirely safe. 
To undo, just reverse the operation. 



PREVENTS STICKING, by C. C. Fraser. 

I find it a good plan to dust the nestbowls with 
buckwheat hulls or tobacco dust. This pre- 
vents the manure from sticking to the bowls and 
makes the cleaning much easier. If nothing 
like this is used, the work of cleaning the bowls 
is quite difficult. 

One of our customers in New York State, 
Henry Blumers, who bought a big flock of our 
Homers and Carneaux last year, has raised six- 
teen squabs from one pair of our Carneaux in a 
period of seven months. This is how he tells 
the story: " We noticed in the magazine aparty 
in California having sixteen squabs in ten 
months, so we thought we would send you the 
record of one of the pairs of Carneaux which we 
purchased of you last fall. They hatched: 
January 10, two squabs; February 9, two; 
March 14, one; April 22, two; May 7, one; May 
25, two; June 27, two: July 15, two; July 31, 
two; and now at the present writing (August 
23) they have a nest started with one egg. We 
call this the champion pair of the five hundred 
and fifty pairs of Homers and Carneaux which 
we bought at that time." 

A man in business judges his correspondents 
by their style of correspondence. Anybody 
who wishes information of an advertiser should 
write him a letter, not a postal card, and en- 
close a two-cent stamp for his reply. If the 
advertiser has a stenographer, it will cost in 
her wages at least five cents to write the letter, 
not to mention the postage as well as the time 
of the advertiser in dictating or writing the 
letter. Every advertiser gets a great many 
foolish and needless inquiries which are a con- 
stant burden of expense, and scores of such cor- 
respondents are productive of no business. 
Hundreds of questions asked daily are fully 
answered in printed matter sent out by the 
advertisers. Another point to remember is 
that advertisers cannot reasonably be asked to 
make estimates of what the inquirer will do 
with certain pigeons, or in certain contingencies 
which come up in daily work in the squabhouse. 
The only way one can find out what one can do, 
is to do it, or try to do it. Nobody can teli 
without trying. 

We are very particular about the quality of 
our grain. We never buy damaged or second 
quality grain, and we have told our grain dealer 
so in such plain words that he distinctly under- 
stands it. We govern the amount to give the 
birds at one time, by the looks of the feed box. 
If they have not eaten all that was given the 
time previous, we do not give them so much. 
We try to gauge the amount so there will be 
very little, if any, in the feed box at feeding 
time. — George F. Cook, Maine. 

I sell the pigeon manure to a tannery for 
fifty cents a bushel. I find plenty of fertilizer 
that does not go to the tannery, splendid for the 
garden and lawn. — Graham Roys, Michigan. 

Breed for three things: good feeders, good 
color and good size. 



APPENDIX G 



397 



HOW I OBTAINED A PROFITABLE 
PRICE, by John F. Bushmeyer. My brother 
has been selling Homer squabs in St. Louis at 
ten and fifteen cents apiece, not knowing they 
were worth more; in fact, not even looking up 
the market prices in the daily papers. We got 
wise to the fact that they were worth more 
through the Manual and the magazine, which 
is a daisy. My brother decided not to sell 
any more squabs unless he got a better price. 
One day last week, having three pairs of 
squabs ready for sale, he put them into a small 
box and went down to the market ; but instead 
of going to the ten-and-fifteen-cent dealer, he 
went into the opposite side of the market to 
walk through, and the first butcher's stand he 
passed, the man behind the counter, seeing 
the box he carried, called him, saying, " What 
have you got there, squabs? " 

" Yes," answered my brother, " are you 
buying them? " 

" Are they commons? " 

"No," answered my brother, "they are 
fancy Homers." 

" What do you want for them? " asked the 
dealer. 

" The market price," was the answer. 

After looking them over, he asked again, 
" What do you want for them? " 

" The market price as I said before, if I 
cannot get any more." 

" Say, Chollie," the butcher called to another 
man behind the counter, " what are Homer 
squabs selling for today? " 

Chollie picked up a morning paper, made a 
bluff at looking at it; "$1.75 a dozen," he 
answered. 

"Wake up and let me see that paper," said 
my brother, which he did after some stalling, 
and my brother proceeded to read the market 
quotations, which were as follows: 

"'Pigeons and Squabs — Live pigeons at 
seventy-five cents per dozen. Squabs — ■ Fancy 
Homers at $2.75 per dozen for eight-pound, 
$3.25 for nine-pound, $3.50 for ten-pound 
and at $1.50 for small; common at $1.00 and 
$1.25 per dozen.' This is out of the Post 
Despatch of today. Now if you want those 
squabs, weigh them up and give me the price." 

The butcher put them on the scales and 
they weighed four and a half pounds; for the 
six he readily produced $1.60 and said, " Bring 
me all you can get." This shows you how 
anxious they are to get good squabs. 

I am now shipping all my Plymouth Rock 
squabs to a Chicago marketman. He pays 
$3.25 for eight-pound squabs, $3.75 for nine- 
pound, $4.00 for ten-pound, and sends check 
weekly. I ship at 4.12 p.m. and they arrive in 
Chicago at 8.30 a.m. the following day. I am 
building another fine addition for three hun- 
dred more pairs of my Carneaux. — J. B. Beck- 
man, Missouri. 

Squabs are a good proposition around here. 
Ours are in demand, many more than we can 
care for. The trade is waiting for them at $5 
to $6 a dozen. — Mrs. Ed Cogley, Iowa. 



SQUAB CONDITIONS IN ST. LOUIS, by 
Fred L. Stock. This is intended mainly for 
the information of the western squab breeder, 
yet it may prove of some interest to the eastern 
breeder, to the extent of giving him some 
inside, as to the conditions now in force in 
St. Louis. But, in the start, I wish to make 
my position clear, by the statement that I 
have no interest in any manner with the Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Company, as I do not 
own one bird that was ever purchased from 
this firm. The market in this city (St. Louis) 
is without doubt the most' unsatisfactory 
market in the United States today, and will 
continue to be such so long as the conditons 
are in force that now prevail, the conditions 
I refer to being the limited number of really 
good flocks of Homers in the city. In fact, 
I can use one hand in counting the owners of 
these first-class Homers, and in each and every 
case the original breeders were purchased from 
the Plymouth Rock Squab Company, and their 
owners have no trouble in finding a private 
market for their squabs at the eastern market 
price, owing to the vast difference in quality 
of squabs from these birds, and the squabs to 
be found ..l the public market. 

Many people state how much per pair it 
costs to feed their birds. The price of grain 
in California and the Middle States differs 
so greatly that their estimate gives me no idea 
whatever of what it would cost me per pair. 
For this season I am weighing all the feed 
used in one house. In the past three months 
they have eaten at the rate of eighty-four 
pounds to each pair per year. I will continue 
to weigh for a full year. There is little demand 
for large squabs in the small towns, but in San 
Francisco they want large squabs and lots of 
them. San Francisco is only seventy miles 
from here, so I ship my squabs alive. The 
express is fifty cents per hundredweight. A 
few of my squabs go to commission houses, but 
most of them go to marketmen direct, and I 
pay no commission. Several marketmen have 
asked me to contract my squabs to them by the 
year at a given price. They are willing to give 
a good price anyhow so I have not contracted 
yet. Squabs are quoted at $2 to $4.50 per 
dozen. My squabs are classed as extras and I 
never receive less than $3 per dozen and this 
for only a few shipments each year. I have 
been unable to find a demand for larger than 
a one-pound squab on the open market.- — D. D. 
Powell, California. 

The largest New York hotels consume on an 
average of sixty dozen squabs a day, each hotel, 
and the prices range from 75 cents to $1.50 per 
squab, according to the location and size of 
the hotel. My readers can draw their own 
conclusion as to whether squab raising pays in 
this part of the country. — Harry M. Samson, 
New York. 

I can sell all my squabs to private customers 
from fifty cents to seventy-five cents a pair.— 
Ray F. Peavey, Massachusetts. 



APPENDIX G 




i\\\\^xis!l$i> 











APPENDIX G 



399 



I SHIP SQUABS FROM KANSAS TO 
COLORADO, by Frank Hucht. I started four 
years ago in the business. I did not know 
anything about the pigeon industry but have 
learned something since. The first Homers I 
saw were in our town, shipped from the East, 
one-half dozen pairs. They were fine birds, 
and I liked them very much. I stocked up 
with Plymouth Rock Homers. My start was 
in an old barn almost ready to fall down. It 
did not take very long when my second room 
was filling up. I talked the matter over with 
my wife in regard to building a squabhouse, 
but she would not listen to me at first and 
told me I had better sell those old pigeons and 
get back what money I had spent on the birds 
I had. I had quite a time to convince my 
wife that there was money in raising squabs. 
I began selling a few dozen every week, and 
got $2.50 and $3 a dozen for them. My wife 
was well pleased with that, and I convinced 
her of the fact and built a house sixty feet 
long, fourteen feet wide, with three-foot aisle, 
self feeders in every unit. I then had only 
one hundred pairs and had four units to go on. 
I sent for one hundred pairs more Homers. 
That made the house fill up some. A year 
ago I bought other property in town, which 
gave me more room. I moved my sixty-foot 
building to this place and added sixty feet to 
it, which makes the present structure one hun- 
dred twenty feet long. (See photograph on 
opposite page.) 

My principal feed is corn and kaffir corn, 
millet and wheat. I have kaffir corn in self 
feeders at all times. The other grains I throw 
on floor. I also feed hempseed and peas with 
plenty of grit. I have now five hundred mated 
pairs of Homers and some youngsters, and also 
Carneaux. 

I ship all of my squabs to Colorado. I dry- 
pick them in the winter and in the summer 
months I ship them alive. The market West 
in the summer is not as good as it has been. I 
received $2.50 and $3.00 a dozen for them 
F. O. B. Denver, which I considered a fair 
market. I got as high as $3.75 for them. 

Let members of the association, when they 
go shopping, inquire the prices of squabs, as if 
they intended buying a pair or a dozen. Mail 
us the dealer's full name and address, date and 
price quoted. These figures would give the 
true retail prices. Then the wholesale prices 
will be from twenty-five to fifty per cent less. 
It has been true, is true now, and will be true, 
that nobody can be guided successfully by 
printed quotations, but must find out fiist what 
his squabs cost him per dozen, then add what 
he desires for a profit and sell at that figuie. 
Otherwise nothing but failure will result. 

I had a dirt floor in my pigeon house, think- 
ing it a necessity, but after I put in a floor of 
two-inch plank and raised my house about 
two feet off the ground I raised squabs with 
ease and rapidity. Dampness was the cause, 
produced by the dirt floor. — Charles A. Tupper, 
New York. 



NON-FLAKING WHITEWASH. To pre- 
pare whitewash for fences, buildings, shop 
interiors, etc., that will not flake and fall off, 
mix one part fine Portland cement with about 
eight gallons whitewash. The cement binds 
the whitewash to the wood and makes a per- 
manent covering which is unaffected by weather 
conditions. The small quantity of cement used 
and the constant stirring necessary to keep the 
whitewash in good condition for applying, pre- 
vents the cement hardening in lumps at the 
bottom of the pail, as might be expected. 

I have been in the habit of robbing the Car- 
neaux nests twice in succession, allowing the 
old birds to hatch the third pair of eggs. I had 
robbed a certain pair twice and as the third 
pair of eggs was laid on the floor in an undesir- 
able place, I determined to rob them a third 
time. It seemed pretty hard, but I considered 
it best all round, so it was done. Nine days 
later pair of eggs number four appeared, this 
time in a nestbox. They were allowed to 
hatch this pair (strong, healthy chaps they are, 
too) and — here's where the speed comes in — 
just seven days after these youngsters were 
hatched, the hen laid again. These eggs were 
removed to a Homer pair as usual. It has now 
been four days since the second egg was laid 
and I am eagerly waiting to see how long it will 
take this fine little egg machine to produce . 
again. I call this rapid work and if any one 
has a breed of birds which can go ahead of it, 
I should like to hear from him. — George N. 
Rogers, Maryland. 

I never knew a thing about pigeons until 
this March (1910) when I took charge of a hun- 
dred pairs — seventy-five pairs Homers, twenty- 
five pairs Carneaux. They were very much run 
down and neglected on account of my husband 
not having the time to devote to them that they 
should have had. I read all the National Squab 
Magazines over and over again and conse- 
quently have had better results than I ever 
dreamed of having. In June I sold $29.25 
worth of squabs, besides keeping fourteen pairs 
for breeding purposes, and in July I expect to 
do better still. — Mrs. Edgar Rapp, Missouri. 
This story ought to sell some more of the bound 
volumes of the magazine, price $2.50, trans- 
portation prepaid. Each volume has over four 
hundred large pages of original squab matter 
which will not be reprinted. The first, volume 
includes the twelve issues for 1909, the second 
1910, the third 1911, the fourth 1912, and so on. 
Address Squab Publishing Co., 220 Purchase 
Street, Boston, Mass. 

I purchased my Homers from your plant some 
two years ago, and I have bred them under the 
most adverse circumstances. I wish to state 
that after looking at several plants in this town 
my pigeons are just a little bit the best looking, 
and if I can get these othci pigeons from your 
place, would be delighted to do so. — H. G, 
Cooper, Louisiana. 



400 



APPENDIX G 



HOW GOOD SQUABS TOOK THE RIGHT 

OF WAY, by C. E. Plank. In May, 1908, I 
purchased one dozen pairs of the Extra Ply- 
mouth Rock Homers, intending to raise squabs 
for my own use only, but in a year I had on 
hand seventy pairs, and lacking room had to 
dispose of the surplus squabs. I called on 
one of the largest retail grocers, handling 
groceries, meats, fruits and all good things to 
eat, who offered me only $1.50 a dozen, saying 
he never paid over $2 for the best. I told 
him he must be getting only common birds 
of about seven or eight pounds per dozen. He 
acknowledged such was the case. When I 
explained what my birds were and that my 
squabs ran ten and eleven pounds per dozen, 
he was willing to talk, and we finally com- 
promised on $2.50, alive off the nest, any 
quantity and at any time, this because I had 
to sell my birds alive, having no time to dress 
or even pluck them. 

I averaged eight dozen a month the rest of 
the year, or $20 a month, and my feed was 
costing me about $7. 

I had one house twelve by fourteen feet, with 
a low upper story, keeping about ninety birds 
in the lower part and thirty above. In May, 
1910, I built another cheap house seven by 
eleven feet, stocking it with select youngsters, 
fifty Homers and twelve Carneaux, allowing 
them to mate up as they wished. Most of 
the Carneaux mated with Homers and their 
squabs all run over a pound each, and these 
Carhomes are fully as prolific as the Homers. 

To verify the quality of my squabs, I will 
say that last month the head buyer for the 
grocer instructed me to bring no more squabs, 
as they were overstocked. I told him I had 
arranged with the owner personally for the 
sale of my birds, and the conditions. He called 
the owner, who said: " Oh, you are the gentle- 
man who has the large squabs," then to the 
buyer: " Cut out some of the others, and take 
all this man brings. We can always dispose 
of his birds." His retail price is thirty to 
fifty cents each, and if I had the time to kill 
and pluck my squabs, I could find a ready 
sale for all of them to private parties and hotels 
at $3.50 to $4.50 a dozen. 

Comparatively few private families in this 
Missouri city use squabs to any extent what- 
ever. I have attended several banquets at 
hotels and clubs, at which squabs were served, 
and find them invariably broiled, practically 
" dried up " and usually the common birds. 
It is no wonder that people who try the small 
birds, served in that manner, are not very 
,; strong " for squabs. 

While my pigeons are yielding me a big 
per cent profit on the investment, I know 
they would be much more lucrative were I 
to give them an hour or two each day. I see 
them a few minutes each morning and spend 
a few hours with them on Sunday. In winter 
I see them in daylight only on Sunday. 

An elderly Englishman who raises fancy 
pigeons of all kinds for shows and fairs called 
to see my birds recently and said I had the 
nicest, healthiest lot of pigeons he had ever 



seen. I lose very few birds with my present 
manner of feeding. I have tried various 
methods and find whole corn and kaffir as 
main food to be the best, with about one-sixth 
hard wheat. 

BRILLIANT WHITEWASH. Half a bushel 
unslaked lime; slake with warm water, cover it 
during the process to keep the steam ; strain the 
liquid through a fine sieve or strainer; add a 
peck of salt, the same to be previously well 
dissolved in warm water; add three pounds of 
ground rice boiled to a thin paste and stir in 
boiling hot; add one-half pound of glue which 
has been previously dissolved over a slow fire 
and add five gallons of hot water to the mixture, 
stir well and let it stand for a few days, covering 
up to keep out dirt. It should be put on hot. 
One pint of the mixture, properly applied, will 
cover a square yard. Small brushes are best. 
There is nothing can compare with it for out- 
side or inside work and it retains its brilliancy 
for many years. Coloring matter may be put 
in and made of any shade — Spanish brown, 
yellow ochre, or common clay, etc. 

I tried to find out if there was any one in 
London, Ontario, a city of 50,000 inhabitants, 
who is doing a squab business, but I hear of only 
one man selling squabs. He is over eighty 
years of age. He pays the boys twenty-five 
cents a pair for common pigeons alive or dead. 
He plucks the feathers, and sells the pigeons to 
private customers at eighty cents a pair. That 
is I think a pretty high price, for common old 
pigeons. There are quite a few breeders of 
flying Homers in London and I understand they 
have an association, but apparently they have 
not yet become much interested in squabs. 
Near London is the city of Hamilton, with 
65,000 people, sixty miles away; also Chatham 
sixty miles away, with 30,000 people, and St. 
Thomas twenty-six miles distant, with 30,000 
inhabitants. Surely this is population enough 
to make trade for squab plants. — W. W. Suther- 
land, Canada. 

Sulphate of iron is a good tonic and cor- 
rective for pigeons. Use a tablespoonful to a 
gallon of water. I grind charcoal as fine as I 
can and mix it with salt, then dampen it and 
pack a paper bag and bake in the oven for half 
a day or longer, so it will be as hard as a brick. 
Put it in the pen and the pigeons peck at it. I 
have sold some of my squabs for sixty-five cents 
a pair. I think there is nothing better than 
squab raising, both to make money and for 
satisfaction. — Louis H. Scharff, Pennsylvania. 

In regard to nest-building, I have found out 
that by taking mustard stalks and cutting them 
about three feet from top of tree and then 
chopping the little thin branches and stump 
together to about six inches in length, this 
makes excellent nesting material for pigeons. 
They will leave all others and pick out mustard 
sticks. If some of your subscribers will try 
this, they will see how quickly their pigeons 
will build nests. — Elmer Krider, California. 



APPENDIX G 



401 



HOW TO SAVE MONEY IN SHIPPING 
SQUABS, by Elmer C. Rice. Having a well- 
settled belief, formed while handling hundreds 
of inquiries on the subject, that not one-tenth 
of the squab breeders on this continent are 
shipping killed squabs at the lowest express 
rate to which they are entitled by the rules of 
the express companies, I am going to give the 
facts in detail. These remarks apply to all 
express companies operating between points in 
the United States and between any point in 
the United States and any point in Canada, also 
within the United States on business to or from 
other countries. They also apply to minor 
express companies or individuals, some of them 
too small to have any rules or regulations, but 
who take their cues from the big ones, and who 
are governed, if they are doing an interstate 
business, by the rules of the Interstate Com- 
merce Commission at Washington, which has 
put its O. K. on what I write here. 

Most shipments of killed squabs are now 
made, on account of the ignorance both of the 
breeder and of the express agent to whom he is 
giving the packages, at the regular rate charged 
for ordinary merchandise. For example, the 
rate from certain points in Virginia, Kentucky, 
Illinois, Michigan, and Canada to New York 
City is two dollars per one hundred pounds for 
ordinary merchandise. Under this rate a box 
of squabs weighing for example, twenty pounds, 
would have a charge of eighty-five cents as- 
sessed against it. For carrying a box of squabs 
weighing one hundred pounds, two dollars 
would be charged. These charges and all 
similar charges based on the rate made for 
ordinary merchandise are in error, being much 
too high. 

The express companies' classification has 
what is known as " General Specials." Thirty 
commodities, from beef-fat to zwieback, are 
these general specials. In S, between smilax 
and stearine, is SQUABS, dressed, with accom- 
panying language as follows: 

" SQ U A BS, dressed. Charge upon the actual 
gross weight, except that an allowance of twenty- 
five per cent from the gross weight may be made 
when it is necessary to use ice for preservation 
and it is used for that purpose only. The charge 
on a shipment packed with ice must not be less 
than the charge on the net weight, with twenty-five 
per cent added, unless the gross weight at time of 
shipment is less." 

Any general special commodity goes at a 
specially low rate. For example, when the 
merchandise rate is two dollars per one hundred 
pounds, the general special rate is only $1.50 
per hundred pounds. This applies to squabs. 

Some of my Texas friends have been shipping 
squabs to New York profitably as ordinary 
merchandise, paying six dollars for a box weigh- 
ing one hundred pounds. Correctly made, the 
rale should have been $3.90 (the general special 
on six dollars) with twenty-five pounds of ice 
out, making a correct charge of three dollars, 
oijust half what they have been paying. 

I have said it many times, and I repeat it 
now, that anybody living anywhere can ship 
squabs to a highly profitable market, even 



hundreds of miles distant, provided he will 
follow plain directions such as I am giving here. 

Always prepay express charges so as to be 
able to talk and pay at your end. Do not 
imagine that anybody at the other end will 
look out for your interests in the matter of 
express charges. If you have been paying the 
regular merchandise rate, do not go to your 
express agent and make a fuss. You might as 
well throw a_ dollar into the ocean from the 
shore and wait for the tide to bring it to your 
feet. Above all, remember that if you are 
going to succeed in the squab business, you 
need the regard, friendship and good fellow- 
ship of your express agent, same as everybody 
with whom you come in contact in a business 
way. 

If you are shipping either live squabs or cull 
live pigeons to market, the express companies 
have a special rate for you known as Scale O. 
This is practically a twenty-five per cent de- 
duction. For example, when the regular rate 
is two dollars per hundred pounds, the Scale O 
rate is $1.50. 

I think the amount of excess express charges 
being ignorantly assessed amounts every year 
to $100,000, which I regard as a low estimate, as 
it allows only a dollar a month overcharge 
against ten thousand squab shippers. There 
are more than ten thousand squab shippers and 
most of them I believe are paying out more 
than a dollar a month illegally. The purpose 
of this article is to put an end to this illegal tax 
on the squab industry and it will be effective if 
you will start the conversation with your express 
agent when you ship your next lot of squabs. 



MORE LIGHT ON SQUAB EXPRESS 
CHARGES, by Gerald E. Swihart. I am a 

squab breeder and have given the matter of 
express rates and charges a lot of study and 
time and I think I have it down to the lowest 
figure. At the head of " General Specials " 
in the Official Express Classification No. 21, 
article 5, page 17, will be found this paragraph: 

" Pound rates must be charged on General 
Special Matter with a minimum of thirty-five 
cents {except where a lower minimum is speci- 
fically named for any particular commodity) 
unless the graduate under the merchandise rate 
is less; when carried by more than one company 
and shipping point or destination is an exclusive 
office, minimum twenty-five cents for each com- 
pany carrying." 

Now as per Mr. Rice's article (see page 401) 
when the regular rate is $2, the general special 
rate is $1.50, as per Scale "N", and going farther 
and taking a box of squabs weighing forty 
pounds, and allowing twenty-five per cent for 
ice, making a net weight of thirty pounds — 
now take your graduate charges scale and 
thirty pounds is eighty cents, correct; but 
under general specials as per article quoted 
above, pound rates must be charged. Now as 
that is the case, then if one hundred pounds cost 
$1.50 to New York, then one pound would cost 
one and one-half cents and thirty pounds would 
cost 30 x 1}^, or forty-five cents. 



402 



APPENDIX G 



Now another example, using same rate $2 
merchandise, $1.50 general special rate, and 
box weighed twenty-eight pounds. Allowing 
for ice twenty-five per cent leaves the box net 
weight of twenty-one pounds and at one and 
one-half cents per pound makes thirty-two 
cents; but the minimum charges are thirty- 
five cents, then the express agent should charge 
you thirty-five cents for your box. 

Again, if you are in a place which has but 
one express company and that company does 
not have an office in the point to which you 
are shipping', the charge would not be less 
than fifty cents, twenty-five cents for each 
company. For example, you live in a town 
by the name of X and have but one express 
company doing business and that is the Cana- 
dian, and you bring in a box of squabs for 
New York. The expressman says the rate to 
New York is $2 and that the box will cost you 
$1. Then you might say, " Well, I under- 
stood that the express companies gave a special 
rate on squabs. Let us look it up." Have 
him turn to O.ficial Express Classification and 
look over about page 17 and you will run 
across a heading General Specials, then reading 
that heading you will find the paragraph as 
quoted at the beginning of this article. After 
reading this carefully, run on through the list 
of articles under this head and in the S's you 
will find squabs, just as stated in Mr. Rice's 
article. You will also find a small letter (b) 
just before the name squab. This is a note and 
must be looked up. This reference tells that 
for a box containing squabs and ice, an allow- 
ance of twenty-five per cent must be made. 
Now going back to your box that weighed 
forty pounds, allowing twenty-five per cent for 
ice, leaves a net weight of thirty pounds. You 
will also find in the heading of General Specials, 
rate as per Scale N. Turn to page 29 and you 
will find a section marked Scale N, and going 
down the rate column per 100 pounds to $2, 
regular merchandise rate, it will be found that 
the General Special rate is $1.50 per 100 pounds. 
Now that means one and one-half cents per 
pound and thirty pounds x \ X A cents is forty- 
five cents. But as the Canadian Express Com- 
pany has no office in New York and must 
transfer it to another company in order to get 
the box to destination, each company says it 
must have not less than twenty-five cents 
each; hence the agent must charge you fifty 
cents and you have, saved fifty cents, and the 
agent is posted for the next fellow. Of, if the 
place is located so that it must go oyer three 
express companies' roads to be delivered to 
destination, then the charges would be seventy- 
five cents, twenty-five cents for each company, 
but if it went through three companies' hands 
when it was only necessary to go through two, 
then the rate should only be fifty cents. 

Again, a great many places have a special 
rate that is cheaper than the General Special. 
For instance, the regular rate from this point 
in Michigan to New York is $2.25, and that 
would make the General Special rate as per 
Scale N $1.75 and the special rate from here 
is $1.50, so we can ship from here to New 



York or to Boston just as cheap as to Philadel- 
phia where the rate is $2 regular merchandise, 
which would make the General Special $1.50. 

Another example. I go to the express 
office with a box of sixty pounds for Chicago. 
The rate from here to Chicago is ninety cents 
and per Scale N the General Special rate is 
seventy-five cents per hundred. Now allowing 
twenty-five per cent for ice, the net weight of 
the box is forty-five pounds. Now as 100 
pounds would cost seventy-five cents, one 
pound would cost three-quarters of a cent, 
and forty-five pounds would be 45 x f , or 
thirty-four cents, but as the minimum charge 
is thirty-five cents, I should pay thirty-five 
cents, the correct charge if the shipping office 
and destination are common points or if express 
company at shipping point has an office at des- 
tination. If not, then each company would de- 
mand twenty-five cents and the correct charges 
should be fifty cents. 

Again, in all express offices you will find, 
or should find, notices like this: 

" The rate schedules applying to or from 
or at this station and indices of this company's 
tariff are on file in this office and may be 
inspected by any person upon application and 
without the assignment of any reason for such 
desire. The agent or other employee on duty 
in the office will lend any assistance desired in 
securing information from or interpreting such 
schedules." 

I would suggest that any shipper of squabs 
go to the express office beforehand and look 
this matter up and get it clear about the 
rate before taking the box of squabs. Do 
not bother the agent when he is busy getting 
ready for a train or just after a train when he 
is checking his express; but just ask for the 
Tariff Book and start in at the beginning and 
find the section headed Official Classification 
and in the index find General Specials and then 
turn to page and article as per the index and 
go to reading and after reading the heading 
of General Specials, either run through the 
articles under General Specials until you find 
Squabs (dressed) or turn back to the index 
and look up squabs and read that and also 
the note indicated by the letter " b " before 
the name Squab. Now you are ready to talk 
to the agent when he_ is at liberty and you 
can ask him to explain the meaning of the 
sections you have read ; then say to him , ' ' What 
would it cost me to send a forty-pound box to 
New York," or whatever your shipping point 
is. If you think the rate he quotes you too 
much, kindly ask him to take up the matter 
with his Route Agent or with his Superinten- 
dent, and let you know what he finds out. 
Do not go to him for a few days, say a week, 
and then drop in some day and say, " Well, 
what did you find out about the rate on 
squabs?" or "Have you heard anything aboutthe 
rate on squabs?" and see what he has to offer. 

EXPRESS RATES ON KILLED SQUABS. 

A lot of letters have come from squab shippers 
who read the article on express rates and have 
found out that they have been paying tco 



APPENDIX G 



403 



much. They have warm praise for the infor- 
mation. This science or art of finding out 
what the lowest express charges are for special 
industries is something to be mastered and 
applied. It is a very live detail of salesman- 
ship of squabs. Mr. Swihart emphasizes the 
point that on small shipments of squabs from 
ten pounds to seventy-five pounds, as well as 
on large, not only is the general special rate 
applied, with twenty-five per cent off for ice, 
but also pound rates are applied. This means, 
in effect, that twenty pounds of killed squabs 
can be shipped a distance as far as that from 
Chicago to New York for only thirty-five cents. 
Mr. Swihart s article reads as if he were at one 
time an express employee. This may not be 
true but he certainly shows an expert knowledge 
of express regulations. It may appear strange 
that express regulations are unknown, but who 
shall tell? It is true that the rate book can be 
seen, if asked for, at every express oince, but 
not one shipper in a hundred asks for it, and 
that one cannot stand at the window studying 
the book half a day to ferret out the truth as 
applied to him. 

A banker knows many businesses because he 
makes money at it. An express agent, how- 
ever, on a salary of $6 to $12 a week, has no 
motive to know other businesses and tell every 
business man how to ship. That is the busi- 
ness man's business. The producers of this 
country know nothing about express rates and 
should be told regularly in the public prints 
not only how to sell their goods, but also how 
to ship them. Not only are squabs general 
specials, but also (to name what is of interest 
to the farmer) dressed poultry ot all kinds, 
butter, eggs, milk, plants, berries, celery, 
maple sugar, maple syrup, vegetables. 



You will recall my writing to you that my 
wife and myself were intending to continue the 
squab and poultry business which she as Miss 
Ayres carried on so successfully with your 
Homers in New Jersey, and now that we have 
settled in our new home here, I wanted you to 
know that sometime during this month you 
will again hear from us, giving an order for 
probably one hundred birds and supplies as 
described in the special offer No. 7. — William, 
R. Pearsall, New York. 

I have a friend who intends to start a large 
squab plant up the State, and think it advisable 
for you to get in touch with him at once. His 
name is enclosed. I have bought some birds 
from you and am well pleased. If I can do 
anything more for you would be pleased. — R. 
S. 'Quinlan, New York. 

You will remember that I purchased one pair 
of Carneaux of you about three years ago. I 
lost the female the first year after raising 
about twenty birds. I still have the old cock, 
and have sold a number of pairs of breeders and 
lots of squabs and still have over seventy-five 
pairs of breeders and all fine, first-class birds 
which I can only thank you for. I am getting 



$6 a dozen for all of my squabs at home trade 
and could sell three times the amount if I had 
them. I am strongly thinking of adding more 
breeders. Please send me one of your 1913 
catalogues and price list of pigeons and supplies. 
— E. P. Tharp, Indiana. 

The dozen pairs of pigeons which we bought 
of you the first of June, 1912, are doing finely. 
We have over ninety birds at present (January 
7) which we consider doing well, as we knew 
nothing whatever about pigeons — merely be- 
came interested in their beauty at the Buffalo 
Poultry Show last January, but find them ex- 
ceedingly interesting, and hope to build up a 
plant of profitable size. Hope to order som? 
Carneaux in the spring. — Mrs. W. M. Chad- 
wick, New York. 

I have read and reread your dollar Manual 
several times, and think it the plainest and 
most concise work of its kind I have ever read, 
and I want to thank you for putting such a 
book before me. (Mr. Locke is superintendent 
of the Mountain View Poultry Plant) . — Charles 
M. Locke, New Jersey. 

There is surely a difference between common 
pigeons and Homers. This may be of some 
interest to those who read the magazine, also 
to any one who thinks common pigeons are 
more profitable than Homers. To S33 the 
difference I weighed some squabs of the com- 
mons and the highest were nine ounces apiece 
at four weeks old. Then I weighed one squab 
of my Plymouth Rock Homers, four weeks old, 
and it weighed 16J4 ounces. I also weighed 
one of my older birds (Homer) ind it weighed 
17}4 ounces. How's that? No o.her Homers 
breed so large a squab as the Plymouth Rock 
Homers. — Wesley E. Budde, Illinois. 

I have been in the squab business two years 
and have had lots of experience and disap- 
pointments. I started with six pairs of pi- 
geons, mostly common stock. They did fairly 
well and after a few weeks I bought some more. 
Now, if they had been all Homers, I would 
have had twice the number of squabs I am 
getting now. In August, 1912, I bought three 
pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers and have 
never regretted it. I have made a pair of 
Carneaux raise Homer squabs for me. I throw 
their eggs away after testing them and put 
Homer eggs under them. I expect to enlarge 
my plant in the spring with Plymouth Rock 
stock. — Maxwell McCollough, Iowa. 

I was pleased to receive your dollar Manual, 
which I consider to be the best book I have yet 
read on the subject of pigeons. Since reading 
it I have determined to " have a shot ' ' at squab 
raising. I have had pigeons for twelve years, 
so I ought to know something about them and 
also books. — R. M. Thomson, New Zealand. 

The birds purchased from you a year ago are 
beating everything in my pens as fast workers. 
— Joseph McGurk, New Jersey. 



404 



APPENDIX G 



HOW A FRENCH CHEF COOKS HIS 
SQUABS, by A. Escoffier. To the optimistic 
American a pigeon is nearly always a squab, 
just as a hen is always a chicken. In the 
following receipts a pigeon may be replaced by 
a well-grown squab, but in cases where genuine 
squabs from three to four weeks old must be 
used, that word squab is employed. The meat 
of the pigeon, though dark, has an excellent 
flavor, is tender, stimulating, easily digested. 
It is very suitable for delicate persons who 
need good nourishment. The squab is a par- 
ticularly delicate food. It may be eaten from 
twelve to thirty days after hatching. The 
pigeon may be served in many ways — ■ as an 
entree, in a compote, in a pate, as a galantine, 
cold in a deep dish, or " en terrine," as we say 
in France. 

Pigeon Soup with Curry 

This is one of the most delicious and nourish- 
ing soups of our cuisine. 

The following quantities of materials will 
provide soup for six persons: Two large pi- 
geons, cleaned, singed and each divided into four 
pieces ; two large onions chopped up ; two large 
soupspoonfuls of butter, three soupspoonfuls of 
curry powder, five pints of water, half an ounce 
of salt, a bouquet made of sprigs of parsley, 
a bay leaf and a mite of garlic (the last named 
being quite optional) and six to eight table- 
spoonfuls of rice. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion 
and let it cook for several minutes on a gentle 
fire. Add the pigeons and cook them from ten 
to twelve minutes with the onion. Then pour 
the curry powder over them. Stir the whole 
with a spoon and add the water, salt and the 
bouquet. Bring the liquid to a boil and cover 
the saucepan. After fifteen minutes' cooking 
add the rice and let it cook twenty to twenty- 
five minutes and serve^ 

The above receipt is reduced to its most 
simple form, and is very suitable for a small 
household. The soup, however, may be re- 
fined by replacing the water with bouillon 
(broth) by straining the onion after cooking 
through a fine strainer, and by only using the 
filets of the pigeons, after removing the skin, 
and cutting the filets in squares, which you add 
at the moment of serving to the_ boiling soup, 
with several tablespoonfuls of rice cooked in 
broth. 

Pigeon and Barley Soup 

The following quantities are sufficient for six 
persons: Two large pigeons cleaned, singed 
and divided into four parts; one large onion 
chopped fine, two medium-sized carrots cut in 
little squares, six to eight tablespoonfuls of 
cleaned barley, two large soupspoonfuls of but- 
ter, half an ounce of suet, a pinch of pepper, a 
bay leaf and three pints of water. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion 
and let it cook several minutes on a gentle fire. 
Then add the pigeons, cook them eight to ten 
minutes with the onion. Then add the carrots, 
barley, water, salt, pepper and the bay leaf. 
Cover the saucepan and let it boil on a gentle 
fire for about an hour and a quarter. 



This soup may be improved in the manner 
indicated in the other soups. A few spoonfuls 
of green peas during the season will give it a 
particularly exquisite flavor. 

Cream of Pigeon Soup 

Quantities for six persons: Two pigeons, 
cleaned, singed and divided into four parts; 
one large onion chopped up, two large soup- 
spoonfuls of butter, half an ounce of salt, one 
pinch of pepper, six to eight soupspoonfuls of 
flour, one bouquet made of parsley sprigs, a 
bay leaf and sprigs of thyme well tied together, 
two full quarts of water and half a. pint of fresh 
cream. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion 
and the pigeons, let them cook for about fifteen 
minutes on a gentle fire and then mix in the 
flour. Let them cook again for a few minutes, 
add the water and bring the liquid to a boil, 
taking care to stir the mixture with a wooden 
spoon, so that the flour may be well dissolved 
and not stick to the bottom of the saucepan. 
At the first boiling remove the saucepan to the 
corner of the fire and then add the salt, pepper 
and the bouquet. Let it cook again at a gentle 
fire for about an hour. 

Finally remove the pieces of pigeon. Cut 
the lean meat in squares and keep it warm. 
Strain the soup through a fine tammy or 
strainer and put it back in a fresh, clean sauce- 
pan, keeping it hot. 

At the moment of serving add the cream, 
mixing it well with the soup, which should be 
boiling.' Pour it into a soup tureen with the 
little squares of meat you have kept in reserve. 

You may also at the time of serving add to 
this cream some spoonfuls of rice or cooked 
barley or Italian paste. 

Pigeon and Tomato Soup 

The preparation of this soup is nearly the 
same as the preceding, except that the curry is 
replaced by seven to eight large firm tomatoes, 
skinned, seeded and chopped up. The bouquet 
is made of the same materials, the proportions 
of water, salt and rice are the same, but you 
must add also a pinch of pepper. 

This receipt may also be elaborated for more 
expensive tastes, as the other soup is. 

When fresh tomatoes are not obtainable they 
may be replaced by tomato puree. 

Pigeon and Pea Soup a la Paysanne 

Quantities for six persons: Two pigeons, 
cleaned and singed; one large or several small 
new onions chopped up; two saucespoonfuls of 
butter; two ounces of lean bacon, cut in small 
squares; a quart of large peas; two lettuces, 
well cleaned and cut in squares; half an ounce 
of salt, a pinch of pepper, a piece of sugar, five 
pints of hot water, a bouquet garni made of 
sprigs of parsley and a bay leaf. 

Melt the bacon and butter in a saucepan. 
Add the onion and the pigeons. Let them 
cook ten to twelve minutes on a gentle fire. 
Then add the peas, the lettuce, the water, the 
salt, the pepper, the sugar and the bouquet. 



APPENDIX G 



405 



Bring the liquid to a boil and then cook at a 
gentle fire for forty-five to fifty minutes. 

Cut the lean meat from the pigeon, then cut 
it in small squares and keep it hot. At the 
time of serving add two soupspoonfuls of fine 
butter, mixing it well, and pour the soup, 
which should be boiling, into a soup tureen, in 
which you have previously placed the squares 
of meat. 

Pigeon Saute a la Paysanne 

Quantities: Two pigeons, cleaned, singed 
and divided into two parts; two soupspoonfuls 
of butter, four tablespoonfuls of lean bacon, cut 
in little dice ; two medium-sized onions, chopped 
up; six medium-sized potatoes, cut in small 
dice; salt, pepper and chopped parsley. 

Melt the butter and the bacon in a frying pan 
or sauteing dish, and add the pigeons, which 
you cook gently. After fifteen minutes' cook- 
ing add the onions, the salt and the pepper; let 
the onions cook for several minutes and add the 
potatoes. 

Finish cooking and add a little good gravy if 
possible and some chopped parsley at the mo- 
ment of serving. 

This is one of the oldest and most favored 
methods of cooking pigeons in the country. 
Like many of our most savory dishes, it origi- 
nated in the home of the farmer, as its name, 
" a la paysanne," indicates. 

Estouffade of Squabs or Squab Stew 

Take two or three squabs, cleaned and pre- 
pared for cooking, but not tied up; roast them 
lightly and then put them in a terrine (a deep 
earthenware dish of French design). Add to 
the cooking liquor a glass of cognac and a glass 
of white wine; boil it several seconds and pour 
it all over the pigeons. 

Surround the pigeons with several little 
onions, browned in butter, and twenty fresh 
mushrooms, cut in quarters and sauteed in but- 
ter. Season with salt and pepper. Add sev- 
eral tablespoonfuls of good gravy. Lay over 
the pigeons several slices of lean bacon, slightly 
browned in butter. 

Cover the terrine close and cook at a gentle 
fire fifty minutes and serve. 

Estouffade of Squab a la Cavalieri 

This is a more refined and expensive method 
of preparing the squabs than the preceding: 

Roast the squabs lightly in butter and put 
them in the terrine with their cooking butter, 
cognac and white wine. Then surround them 
with a dozen small lamb sweetbreads, slightly 
browned in butter, a few slices of truffles, cut 
rather thick, and a few spoonfuls of good veal 
gravy, the whole well seasoned. Cook gently 
in the oven for about fifty minutes. 

This and the preceding dish have the ad- 
vantage that they can be eaten hot or cold. 

Stuffed Pigeons 

Take two pigeons, cleaned and singed, and 
prepare the following stuffing: A soupspoonful 
of butter, three soupspoonfuls of lean bacon; 
the livers of the pigeons, chopped up; three 
tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, white and 



fresh; half a soupspoonful of chopped onion, a 
coffeespoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, 
spice and two yolks of eggs. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion, 
let it cook gently six to eight minutes and then 
add the bacon. As soon as this is slightly 
heated, add the pigeons' livers and, if possible, 
two or three chickens' livers, the bread crumbs, 
the chopped parsley, salt, pepper and yolks of 
eggs. Stuff the pigeons, tie them up with the 
feet turned in, and cook them in a saucepan 
thirty to thirty-five minutes at a gentle fire. 
At the moment of serving, untie the pigeons, 
put them back in the saucepan, wit ft several 
soupspoonfuls of good gravy or hot water. 
Give them several seconds' boiling so that the 
gravy and cooking butter may be well mixed. 

GOOD SQUAB RECEIPTS, by Mrs. E. E. 

Wygant. _ Singe, split down the back and dress 
as for chicken; season with pepper and salt, 
parsely and onion, celery and bay leaves, a 
few slices of bacon, and baste with melted 
butter and water while baking about an hour; 
include the giblets in the baking. 

(2) Clean and dress as for turkey, let them 
drain, and stuff with a moist dressing over 
night, made of bread crumbs, onions, pepper, 
salt, parsley, celery, and a few English walnuts, 
and fasten a small piece of bacon on, each 
breast with a tooth pick, baste often with melted 
butter and water, and serve on lettuce leaves. 



YOUTH AND MATURITY, by F. M. Gil- 
bert. Another joke! I get letter after letter 
from parties wanting pigeons, with this clause, 
" they must not be over one year old." Now 
what idiot has been telling or writing that 
pigeons breed best when a year old? And these 
men believe it or they wouldn't make the 
stipulation. Suppose I give balm to a few 
minds. I imported Derby (once champion of 
England) when he was twelve years old. He 
died at twenty from a cold. Dundee, the 
father of the crack birds that Messrs. Topping, 
Kelley and others of Chicago showed, was 
seven years old when he came over. I showed 
K. C. at the first show Kansas City ever gave, 
and I heard of him two years ago in the East, 
still breeding and doing well. I bred Unser 
Fritz and Seventy-Six for some twelve years. 
I bought the Palace cock at two years old and 
never got a fertile egg till he was seven. The 
very best pair of producers I ever owned — ■ 
the pair that bred me birds which brought $250 
in one season, were so old that they were get- 
ting coarse about the necks. 



PIGEON SALAD. 

Truss and roast three pigeons, carefully 
basting and not allowing them to brown very 
much. When cold, strip the meat from the 
bones and cut into small pieces. Chop one 
cup celery and a half cup of English walnuts 
fine. Mix the salad with mayonnaise. Serve 
on green lettuce. 



406 



APPENDIX G 



I will now leave it all to you in regard to 
sending me another pair. It is a pleasure to do 
business with you. There are so many dis- 
honest people in business that a psrson doesn't 
know whom to deal with, but I will say for the 
Plymouth Rock Squab Company, I will have 
no hesitancy in recommending you to others. — 
Clarence Kerr, Ohio. 

I am glad to state that I just took two blue 
ribbons at the Pigeon Show of the California 
Pigeon Club, Oakland, 1912. They were won 
by two pens of Exhibition Homers, Red Barred, 
Silvers and Black Homers. They were bred 
from the stock that I bought from the Ply- 
mouth Rock Squab Company two years ago. 
These birds, also your Carneaux, are excellent 
breeders, raising fat, white-meated squabs. 
I handle the squabs of a good many other 
people here and noticed that those that have 
Plymouth Rock Squab Company stock are 
always sending me the best. — Stefan Schwarz, 
California. 

As you wanted to know how I made out at 
our show with Plymouth Rock pigeons, I am 
proud to say: I showed 16 birds and got 14 
ribbons — 7 blues, 4 reds and 3 yellows, also 
got a silver cup for best display of working 
Homers. — William R. Mollineaux, New York. 

It may interest you to know that my Ply- 
mouth Rock Carneaux took the blue ribbon 
over all exhibits of their class at the poultry 
show last week. — Dr. C. L. Rion, State of Wash- 
ington. 

Enclosed you will find two dollars, for which 
please send me by first boat one hundred 
pounds of your Plymouth Rock Health Grit. 
There is nothing which will take its place. My 
birds are doing nicely now. They have gone 
to work in earnest. I will send some more 
pictures soon. — Mrs. H. F. Maxwell, Florida. 

You will recollect that I bought from you six 
or seven lots of the Extra Homers. These have 
given excellent satisfaction. At present I am 
breeding about ten dozen squabs per week from 
eight hundred breeders. Practically all of 
these have been raised from your Extra Homers 
within the last two years. Your Extra Hom- 
ers are breeding nine to eleven-pound squabs 
for us regularly. — K. C. Jursek, Pennsylvania. 

We are more tha'n delighted with the birds 
we bought of you nearly two years ago. We 
have now 250 pairs, besides selling most of our 
young squabs at fifty cents each. You remem- 
ber we started with twenty-five pairs. We are 
going to extend our plant and order some 
Carneaux. — Lewis A. Briggs, Rhode Island. 

SIX TO SIX HUNDRED, by A. S. Temple, 
New York. I started in the squab business 
June 15, 1910, with three pairs of Extra Homers 
which I purchased from you, and the flock has 
increased (January 7, 1913) to more than six 
hundred birds that will all be old enough to be 



workers by April 1, 1913, and I have kept only 
the best of the production, killing and selling or 
using for our own table all that were not up to 
standard in size. Some of my best squabs 
weighed from sixteen to twenty ounces at 
twenty-seven to thirty days of age. We are in 
the business to stay, and think after I get a 
steady market for my production will increase 
my flock by buying mated pairs from you, as 
i t is quicker than waiting to raise them , although 
the experience of the past two years with the 
aid of your invaluable squab book has been of 
great advantage to me. 

$7.50 TO $9 A DOZEN, by Karl C. Jursek. 

We are receiving from private families from 
$7.50 to $9 for nine and ten-pound Plymouth 
R'ock Homer squabs. From hotels this month 
(January) we received $6.25 to $7 for nine-a.nd- 
one-half to ten-and-one-half-pound squabs. In 
this list are included the Fort Pitt, Lincoln, 
Henry and Monongahela houses. We cannot 
of course give a list of the private families. We 
start building a good-sized addition in the 
spring. 

NO SET RULES, by Fred H. Dodge. Please 
tell me the cost of keeping for one year one 
hundred pairs of breeding pigeons at the present 
prices of pigeon grains. How many squabs 
could I market by taking the best care of the 
birds? Answer. The matters you speak of 
v?ry up and down the scale with management. 
We cannot give you a set of rules, nor can any- 
body. You might get a certain number of 
squabs per year while another breeder more 
skilful might get more, or still another person 
not so skilful would get less. The same applies 
to grain, whether you buy it in paper bags, as 
the owners of a few pairs do, or whether you 
buy it in 100-pound lots or whether you buy it 
in ton lots. The best guide for you is to read 
actual experiences in which breeders tell in their 
own words what they have accomplished. 
Success with squabs depends more on your acts 
than on what you may read or not read, al- 
though you should study as much as you car 
and then adapt yourself accordingly. 

BOSTON GLOBE QUOTATIONS OK 
SQUABS. January 26, 1912, $5 and $6 a 
dozen. February 16, 1912, $5 and $6.50 a 
dozen. March 1, 1912, $6 and $7.50 a dozen. 

HOW SPLIT PEANUTS FATTENED OUR 
SQUABS, by H. A. Henkel. We are located 
right on the western edge of the peanut belt 
and up to two months ago had never thought 
of peanuts as a food for pigeons. However, 
after learning that pigeons were very fond of 
them, we decided to give them a thorough trial 
and secured from one of the big shellers a few 
hundred pounds. These we commenced feed- 
ing to our birds in one pen which contained 
thirty-five pairs. We thought it best to feed 
only to one pen of birds for a while to see how 
the breeders thrived and how the squabs would 
be. We fed this pen of birds a proportioned 
mixture of kaffir corn, cracked corn, red wheat, 



APPENDIX G 



407 



and sorghum seed in a Jencks' self-feeder, and 
every night and morning we fed in an open 
trough one quart of cracked peanuts. The 
birds were in excellent condition, and the squabs 
were fully up to those that were in the other 
twenty-four pens that had been fed a large 
per cent of Canada peas and other costly grains. 

After this test we commenced feeding all 
our birds a mixture similar to the above, which 
gave results equally as gratifying as were 
obtained from the more costly grains. We 
find, however, that the feeding of the peanuts 
in a separate trough is an unnecessary trouble, 
and recently we have been mixing the peanuts 
with the other grains. The mixture is as 
follows, and we guarantee it will produce 
squabs equally as heavy, if not heavier, than 
those produced with the more costly grains. 
The grains proportioned as follows will give 
best results: 200 pounds kaffir corn, 100 pounds 
good red wheat, 100 pounds good, sound cracked 
corn, and 75 to 100 pounds cracked peanuts. 
The kaffir corn costs us $2 per 100 pounds, 
wheat SI. 50, cracked corn $1.65, and the pea- 
nuts at present $1.S0 per bushel. At these 
figures this mixture can be made for $2 per 100 
pounds. Of course, in localities where grains 
can be secured for less than kaffir corn, wheat, 
and cracked corn, it would be advisable to 
feed them instead. Always adapt your feeding 
to the grains that are to be had at the lowest 
prices in your town. In most every ssction of 
the United States certain grains can be secured 
to mix with peanuts that will make an excellent 
feed which will not cost more than $2 per 100 
pounds. 

On September IS we shipped north fourteen 
and one-half dozen Plymouth Rock Homer 
squabs which were the first we have shipped 
that had been fed on peanuts from the start. 
They were nearer one size than any lot we have 
ever shipped, nice large white ones, and I 
think will bring better prices than any we have 
shipped this year. Just two days previous to 
this we shipped from these same houses five 
dozen Plymouth Rock Homer squabs that 
weighed ten pounds to the dozen. 

PEANUTS HAVE OVER 40 PER CENT 
PROTEIN, by Edward E. Evans. Until squab 
and pigeon breeders learn what constitutes 
food value, until they learn why the American 
farmer pays $25 per ton for one kind of feed 
and $45 per ton for another kind, there is no 
use to talk or write about peas, cowpeas or 
soys. The general idea seems to be that bulk 
as compared with price is all there is to the feed 
question. When your people learn that on the 
basis of absolute food value a bushel of peas is 
worth two and one-half bushels of wheat, they 
will begin to know something about squab 
production on a paying basis. 

Red wheat is today two and one-half to 
three times as expensive as peas, while weed 
seeds and wild grass seeds (the seeds of fox- 
tail, pigeon grass and barnyard grassl are not 
any better. The money that it takes today to 
buy eleven feed units of kaffir corn, will pay for 
twenty-eight units if expended in peas. I 



notice that a great number of so-called " bal- 
anced ration " feeds, composed of a mixture 
of grains, hemp, millet and weed seeds, are 
being sold all over the country, in direct viola- 
tion of the Pure Food act. No such mixture 
contains to exceed twelve per cent protein and 
most of them contain much less. The only 
way to balance a pigeon ration is by the use of 
legume seeds, i.e., Canada peas, soy beans, 
vetches, cowpeas, horse beans or peanuts. 
Later. Do not misinterpret the statement I 
made in my previous letter regarding mixtures 
of grain. The Pure Food act does not stipu- 
late that such a mixture shall contain a certah 1 
specified amount of protein, nor d.d I state that 
it did. My complaint was that a g _ eat many 
mixtures of grains and seeds were being offered 
on the market as " balanced rations," which 
they certainly are not. A mixture of cereal 
grains and seeds such as millet, hemp and wild 
seed, no matter how many different species or 
varieties, cannot under the act be called a 
" balanced ration," for the reason that the 
above-mentioned seeds and cereals contain only 
from 10 to 123^ per cent of protein. A " bal- 
anced ration " for pigeons can be obtained only 
through the use of legume seeds, such as peas, 
cowpeas, soy beans, vetches, etc., all of which 
contain from twenty-five to forty-two per cent 
protein. I notice that a breeder in Virginia 
obtains good results from the use of peanuts. 
This success could not be rightly attributed to 
the large percentage of oil contained therein.- 
As you are doubtless aware, vegetable fats and 
oils, in other words, carbon, do not produce 
growth in any animal body, but furnish energy 
or motion, and some portion of it is stored up 
as fat. Peanuts are of such great value to sjuab 
raisers because they contain more than forty per 
cent actual protein and are the richest in that 
substance of^ any material produced on American 
farms. This exemplifies the statement made 
in my previous letter, that American pigeon and 
squab breeders have much to learn of feeding 
values as compared with bulk, and until they 
learn this they can never buy feed intelligently 
nor use it profitably. 

I HAVE FOUND THE REAL REMEDY 
FOR LICE, by George S. Terry. It was not 

until my fourth year in the squab business that 
I had any trouble with lice. I woke up one 
fine June morning to find four hundred pairs of 
my best birds affected. I consulted authorities 
who informed me that lice were usually due to 
filth and poor management in the loft and that 
the best cure was prevention. This was poor 
consolation and useless advice. As a matter of 
fact I had always given my birds the best of 
care. I never yet have failed to make at least 
two dollars per pair per year net profit from my 
birds. Considering that I have had no private 
trade and always sold to commission men, I 
do not think my results show poor management 
in the loft. But the lice were there and the 
birds began to show it. I wrote for advice to 
friends. I visited neighboring and distant 
lofts. I was variously advised but no one 
seemed to have a real knowledge of just hov» 



408 



APPENDIX G 



to rid a loft of lice. Some advised perman- 
ganate of potash in the bath water, moth balls 
in the nests, various kinds of insect powder, 
several kinds of nest sprays, carbolized lime, 
etc. I tried all these. For three months I 
wrestled with the lice. I caught and dusted 
every bird at least three different times. I was 
getting desperate. I even made a revolving 
cylinder or dust bag through which I passed all 
the birds. It was an immense amount of work 
but did not do the business. It killed some 
lice, to be sure, but in ten days they were as 
bad as ever. Finally I hit it, and it is easy 
when you know how. Simply spray the birds 
with a mixture of two-thirds kerosene and one- 
third crude carbolic acid. I close the birds 
in the loft and take a continuous spray pump 
full of the mixture and give their feathers a 
good dose of the evil-smelling stuff. I try 
especially to hit their backs. They sneeze and 
sputter and it does spoil their beauty for a 
while, but no harm ever has resulted in my 
lofts. A better and more thorough method is 
to catch each bird and pour about a dessert- 
spoonful among the feathers along the back, 
especially just above the tail. This place is 
the last stronghold of the louse. You will find 
him here when he has been driven from every 
other quarter. This treatment, taken with the 
tri-weekly bath and the usual spraying of the 
nestboxes, has completely solved the problem 
for me. May it do as much for you. 

We are to have a poultry and pigeon show 
next month. There are quite a few people en- 
gaged in the business here. I have had a 
couple of orders of birds from you. I bought 
them when I was in Kellogg, Idaho. _ I am not 
engaged in the business now, but intend to 
start again in the spring. I thought perhaps 
you would like to have some advertising left 
at the show. I am always interested in telling 
people about the Plymouth Rock Squab Com- 
pany, as you sent me fine birds on both of my 
orders. I am in a position now to tell lots of 
people about you, as I am soliciting for a tea 
house here and call on a good many people 
who raise poultry and pigeons. If you will 
send me some advertising I will pass it out to 
good advantage, and possibly I can send you 
on some orders. I will feel amply paid if you 
send me good birds when I order next spring. 
The demand for squabs increases every day. 
The price paid depends on the size and color 
and mostly on one's ability to sell them to the 
right people. — G. Evans, Utah. 

The birds you sent me last April are doing 
nicely. Have saved considerable squabs as 
breeders, and have sold enough to more than 
pay 'or feed. I have never sold squabs for 
less than $3.75 per dozen to dealers, and re- 
ceive $6 per dozen from private trade. These 
were raised from your Extra Homers. Have 
had squabs run as high as seventeen ounces, 
but they average fourteen ounces each. You 
can use above as an unsolicited testimonial if 
you wish. Yours for continued success. — H. A. 
Parkhurst, New Jersey. 



I recently moved to Utah from Bedford, 
Indiana, and while in Bedford I bought some 
Homers from you. They were beauties, and 
I can't get along without some_ pigeons out 
here. The prospects for squab raising here are 
good. I am trying to get some one interested 
who owns property and can put up a large 
plant. I have misplaced your catalogue and 
must ask for another one. Squabs bring $6 
to $7 a dozen here now (1913). — -George G. 
Crocker, Utah. 

Plymouth Rock squabs are bringing sixty 
cents apiece with prospects of very heavy sales 
this winter. My private trade is rapidly in- 
creasing, due to the fact that_ my customers 
are doing a little free advertising for me. _ A 
satisfied customer surely is your best advertise- 
ment. — R. W. Edson, Ohio. 

Received your dollar Manual and it is the 
plainest and easiest understood of anything 
that has ever come under my eyes. You may 
use my letter and name if it will help to get 
amateurs to read the Manual, as it is surely a 
great help. — A. E. Edgerton, Michigan. 

I have only a few hundred now, but will en- 
large my squab plant as it furnishes the capital. 
I am greatly pleased with the magazine and 
look to your National Standard Squab Book 
for advice, and have implicit confidence in it. 
I know its advice is good because I have been in 
the poultry business for twenty years, and have 
had pigeons for pleasure and have natural love 
for all the feathered tribe. — Mrs. Edith Love, 
West Virginia. 

We find a ready market for squabs in Chicago 
at $3.50 for eight-pound, $4.50 for nine-pound 
squabs. We ship at 3.45 p.m. and they are in 
Chicago for the next morning's market. We 
had a severe case of canker in one bird , his own 
fault, as he must have eaten the dirty feed 
from the floor, and we cleaned out the mouth 
with a bit of cotton wound around a match, 
moistened with vaseline, then we covered the 
spots with sulphur. Had to treat him for a 
week and a day and the canker was all gone. — 
Griffin & Hazen, Wisconsin. 

I went to one of the markets in Vancouver to 
buy a chicken and after making a purchase I 
inquired the price of squabs that were in a 
crate nearby. The marketman thought I 
wanted some, I suppose, and said, " Seventy- 
five cents a pair." When he found out that I 
had no intention of buying he talked with me 
about them and said he paid sixty cents a pair 
and sometimes more, but never less. — Harry 
Gardner, British Columbia. 

An easy way to lose money in the squab 
business is to follow the advice of those who 
talk but have nothing to show for their talking; 
and, conversely, the successful pigeons and 
methods are found on the places of the money- 
makers, who have eager attention when they 
talk or write. 



APPENDIX G 



409 



I went to a market in Lynn and found they 
wanted six dollars a dozen for squabs, and they 
were not of extra quality either. They were 
No. 1 and had feathers on. Squabs in this 
locality are scarce and the prices are high. 
The market I refer to is the J. B. Blood Co., one 
of the largest markets in New England. The 
two squabs which I bought cost me fifty 
cents apiece with feathers on. I enjoyed them 
after they were cooked. Yours for squab news 
which will be honest and reliable. — W. D. 
Hayden, Massachusetts. 

BONES FOR NESTS, by Lawrence Walter. 

I have one pair of pigeons which insist upon 
building their nests of bones that accumulate 
in the chicken yard. They will do this even if 
I have a bushel basket of tobacco stems where 
they can get at them. I also have another 
pair that lay four eggs every time, and usually 
three of them hatch. 

We look forward to the coming of the Squab 
Magazine with great eagerness. I get $4 per 
dozen for seven and eight-pound squabs and 
$4.50 for nine-pound squabs in Chicago. — Mrs. 
N. E. Wilson, Indiana. 

NEEDS WAKING UP, by William Smith. I 

am the only squab raiser in my city in Michigan, 
and can sell all I can raise for seventy-five 
cents a pair, plucked. I have forty pairs of 
Homers and all are doing splendidly. Homers 
are the best of all my squabs. They weigh 
nine and ten pounds to the dozen. I feed 
scratch feed, stale bread and whole corn. I 
turn down orders every day as high as three 
dozen at a time. 

SHAVINGS FOR FLOOR, by Harry M. 
Samson. Speaking of flooring material, the 
writer has tried pretty much everything within 
his reach, good, bad and worse. For the past 
few years I have used sand from the Hudson 
River, making what I considered an ideal cover- 
ing for two reasons: first, its cost was practically 
nothing; second, it absorbed the droppings. 
What more could one wish for? Recently I 
stumbled across shavings, a product to be had 
at any sawmill at little or no cost. Believe 
me, I was converted in haste, and I will tell you 
why. First of all, they give the loft a clean, 
immaculate appearance, such a thing as the 
odor of ammonia being an unknown quantity 
for the simple reason that the shavings absorb 
the moisture at once, leaving the droppings in 
the form of dry manure, which is not obnoxious, 
and is readily swept up. Shavings, however, 
should not be used if the pure manure is being 
saved for tanneries. 

OREGON WOMAN'S PASTIME, by Mrs. 
W. R. Lycan. I bought three pairs of your 
best Homers in March, 1908. Since then I 
have raised about sixty pairs, all mated and 
working now, besides selling enough to pay all 
expenses of feed for the whole bunch and also 
wire for fly, and I have on the right side of 
ledger close to twenty-five dollars. I pay here 



(Oregon) $2.50 per hundred for mixed pigeon 
feed, about the same for kaffir corn, $1.95 for 
whole corn, about $1.60 for good wheat. Get 
thirty cents each for squabs, killed and plucked. 

I am getting $6 a dozen for squabs at our 
home grocer's and $7.20 from my private cus- 
tomers and can sell all I have. I cut the head 
off, pull the skin over the neck and hold it 
down, and put wings back. I have boxes 
which hold two in oiled paper. I feel very 
proud of my birds as I take all care of them, 
cleaning the house once a week thoroughly. — 
Mrs. A. Rheinstrom, Illinois. 

I have benefited much from the magazine 
and am selling my own squabs to private trade 
for fifty cents each, dressing five cents extra, 
and ten cents for delivery, Carneaux squabs 
one dollar each, and have all I can do. — Miss 
Marion S. Baker, Massachusetts. 

I am getting $4.25 a dozen for my squabs in 
Cincinnati. — Orson W. Clark, Ohio. 

SALT AND DAINTIES, by E. J. Lander. 

Here is one of my own preparations in the way 
of producing healthy squabs: Take two parts 
of salt, one part of rice (ground) and one part of 
wild or mustard seed. Put the two parts of 
salt and parts of rice and wild seed together in 
any kind of receptacle and mix well. Then 
dampen this with water and put a pinch of red 
pepper in the mixture. Now put in an oven 
and bake hard. Be careful not to get it burned. 
Take out the pans after the mixture has baked 
hard and set in a cool, dry place. The birds 
eat this with great relish. Fellow breeders, try 
this, for it makes the birds livelier and brings 
good sound squabs. 

I send you a clipping from a Seattle news- 
paper offering $4.50 per dozen for squabs 
shipped alive. — C. E. Jackson, Washington. 

Squabs are in demand in our southern cities 
at from $5 to $4.50 a dozen. Please send me 
one of your type dies. I want to get in the 
game, so for anything you can do or say to help 
me I will be very thankful, and will do as much 
as I can to help make the National Squab Breed- 
ers' Association the thing. — E. T. Hey wood, 
Mississippi. 

FEED IN MONTANA, by J. P. Runa. Ac- 
cording to my observations a pigeon eats nearly 
forty pounds of feed a year. So far I have been 
feeding my pigeons a ready-made mixture. 
But this feed stands me more than four cents a 
pound laid down here (Montana) which, of 
course, is too much. I can buy turkey red 
wheat here at one and one-fourth cents a pound, 
barley at one and one-half cents a pound, 
corn at two cents a pound, and I have a lot of 
peas that were raised together with and mixed 
with spring wheat. Could I not make a good 
feeding mixture out of these? Answer. Yes, 
certainly. The more peas you use, the better 
off you will be in eggs and squabs. It is not 



410 



APPENDIX G 



necessary for Montana squab raisers to send 
East for their grain. They can buy wheat and 
peas cheaper than eastern squab raisers. 

SEATTLE MARKET, by Fred B. Lancaster. 

I have been reading one of your squab books 
and believe you are pretty nearly righw I am 
a breeder of Homers myself. I have four 
hundred and twenty-eight pairs of birds, and 
fine ones too. I intend to buy some more this 
fall. I will need some soon, as I am now build- 
ing a large house to accommodate about five 
hundred more birds. _ I am now getting $5.25 
per dozen for squabs in Seattle, so you see we 
have a pretty good market in the West, and 
there is always a good demand for squabs. 

Pigeons are a good deal like figures in one 
respect: whereas figures acquire their value 
from their position, so pigeons demonstrate 
their value through their owner. 

The Pacific Market in Ocean Park gives 
$4.50 a dozen for squabs, and sells them for 
$5 or $6. The City Market gives S3 and sells 
for $4.50. I can get sixty cents apiece for 
squabs from four to five weeks old and twenty- 
five cants for old pigeons per pair. The squab 
is the most tender, sweetest, and most easily 
digested. I would rather have squab than any 
other meat. A woman in my neighborhood 
clears from fifteen to eighteen dollars per month 
from her pigeons. I have blue bar and blue 
checker Homers. — Homer E. Vincent, Cali- 
fornia. 

I raise squabs over a pound apiece, getting as 
much as five dollars per dozen* I am building 
larger this spring. — Ernest Madsen, Massa- 
chusetts. 

Prices in San Francisco fluctuate according 
to supply. On one occasion I was quoted 
common squabs at twenty cents each, Ply- 
mouth Rock Homer squabs at forty-five and 
fifty cents each. About four weeks later or 
during April, 1912, I was quoted common 
squabs at two dollars per dozen, Homer squabs 
at three and four dollars per dozen. Prices 
in Berkeley (May 22, 1912) : common squabs 
$2.75 to $3.25 per dozen, Homer squabs $3.50 
to $4.50 per dozen. One market quoted the 
Homer squabs at strictly forty-five cents each. 
— Harry Preiss, California. 

WOMAN GETS $5 FOR EIGHT-POUND 
SQUABS, by Mrs. W. A. Roth. In 1908 I had 
a severe attack of the squab breeder's fever, 
brought on by reading everything I could get 
on the subject. I had never seen any but com- 
mon pigeons flying around. After reading Mr. 
Rice's Manual I decided I could do what others 
had done. I bought twenty-five pairs of 
Homers and later twenty-five pairs more, . with 
a pair of Carneaux. At first I fed according 
to the advice given by so many, two-thirds 
corn, one-third wheat in winter and the reverse 
in summer, with Canada peas, kaffir corn, 
hempseed, broken rice and buckwheat. The 



birds did well on this in the winter but when the 
hot weather came in June, the squabs were 
light in weight, some having swollen wing and 
leg joints. I wrote to some experienced men 
for help and feel I owe much of my success 
to them. They told me the wheat was at the 
bottom of the trouble and never to feed more 
than one-fourth wheat in the ration. I use 
winter wheat. I have learned not to let the 
birds out on the snow as their cold feet chill 
the eggs and prevent hatching. My first squabs 
I sold all sizes for $3 per dozen. I am now 
selling eight-pound squabs at $5, nine-pound 
squabs at $6, twelve-pound squabs at $8 per 
dozen, less express and commission. I have 
nothing in my pens breeding less than six pairs 
per year, averaging nine to twelve pounds per 
dozen. The Cameau-Homer cross makes a 
large squab, also Maltese-Homer, but I would 
not like to keep them for breeders because a 
well-established breed like pure Homers and 
pure Carneaux, is so much more reliable in 
reproducing its characteristics. 

CHICAGO IS AN EXCELLENT SQUAB 
MARKET, by John Loring Cook. I am in- 
tensely interested in the squab business, and 
it is proving to be a successful venture. I 
put in five hundred birds first and have slowly 
developed the plant until I have now five lofts 
and about a thousand birds. Chicago is surely 
an excellent market, and my plant is doing as 
well as could be expected. I believe there is 
good money to be made in the squab and poul- 
try business, if the help expense can be kept at 
a low figure and the feed bill is properly regu- 
lated. These two items can be kept down if 
one understands how to do it. Feed should 
not cost very much over $1.70 a hundredweight. 

I FIND MUSTARD SEED CHEAP AND 
GOOD, by Riley C. Clark. I think most of 
the pigeon men here feed a little different than 
in most places. My main feed is wild brown 
mustard seed. I have fed it with good results 
for three years. I will give my way of feeding. 
One and one-half quarts wheat in morning. 
From three to four quarts mustard seed at 
noon. One and one-half to two quarts Egyp- 
tian corn at night, with a feed of peas and rice 
once a week each. In each loft is a feeder 
containing grit, charcoal and sea-shells, in each 
fly a piece of mineral salt. One reason I feed 
more mustard seed is that it is a cheaper feed 
than anything else. It costs here $1.25 per 
one hundred pounds; white wheat is about $1.60 
and Egyptian corn $1.75 to $2 per hundred. 
I should like to hear from some one who has 
tried mustard seed. The price of live squabs 
here is from $2.50 to $4.50 f.o.b., San Francisco. 
We do not dress squabs for market. 

PROFIT OF $3.55 A YEAR A PAIR ON 
HOMERS, by R. L. Chipman. I find the total 
cost of keeping a pair of breeding pigeons per 
year (here in the State of Washington) to be 
between $1 and $1.25 according to the grains 
used. The production per pair of sixteen 
squabs per year if sold at thirty cents apiece 



APPENDIX G 



411 



would leave a net profit of $3.55 per pair per 
year. These figures are not theoretical by any 
means, for this income is being derived from 
squab plants which are carried on in a successful 
manner. The breeding birds are constant and 
vigorous workers from the age of six months to 
twelve years, producing fat, juicy squabs all 
this time. This is surely three times as long 
as any chicken can be said to be profitable and 
you do not need the infusion of new blood every 
year as is the case with chickens. 

HOW SQUABS MADE A SICK WOMAN 
WELL, By Mrs. H. F. Maxwell. One year ago 
I ordered six pairs of extra Plymouth Rock 
Homers, and it has been a delight for me to 
watch them multiply. I have nearly two hun- 
dred now. My birds are remarkable breeders. 
I have six or seven pairs which lay three or four 
eggs and hatch and raise three of them. I have 
never lost a single grown bird, and only a few 
squabs. The work is all a pleasure to me, 
even the cleaning of the houses, for I do it all. 
This fall I shall begin to market my squabs. 
There is a splendid market here (^lop'da) with 
good prices, and I do wish a number of people 
would go into the business on a large scale. 
Florida is an ideal place to raise pigeons, since 
we have no cold, icy winter to contend with. 
My houses are built with open fronts and the 
birds seem well contented. I have cement 
bath pans in the flying pens and use self-feeders 
in the houses. A friend of mine called on me, 
and I told her I was raising pigeons. She said, 
" Why, we tried that and they all died with 
bowel trouble." I took her out to the cotes 
and showed her how I feed and care for them. 
She said, " Oh! we just threw the feed on the 
ground." I told her that was the reason they 
died, from damp and sprouted feed. She was 
delighted with my birds and wants to try again 
to raise them. I told her they were a great 
pleasure to me and had helped me to regain my 
health, so I felt they were a good investment if 
they never brought in any money. I do not 
intend to be satisfied with less than a thousand 
pairs. They will bring me a good income. 

I am also raising Indian Runner ducks and 
they are very interesting. Oh! if I only could 
convince more women that it is an ideal busi- 
ness for women, so much easier than working 
in the city on a salary, where you are in a close 
house all day, I believe more would take up 
this work. My friends laugh and c-ill me a 
crank on the subject, but I cannot help telling 
others how interesting it is- I am in splendid 
health, whereas two years ago I was an invalid. 
That is what it has done for me. 

HOW I SAVE MONEY BY FEEDING 
BREAD, by Charlton Green. I have been 
feeding bakers' discarded bread to a pen of 
eight pairs of breeders and eleven squabs, most 
of which are just learning to eat. The bread 
can be fed crushed dry or moistened. The 
pigeons like clean bread and white bread better 
than rye bread. Besides bread, I feed about 
half a pound of Indian corn each day. I find 
the bread an excellent feed for squabs that are 



just out of the nest. They learn to eat it much 
quicker and easier than they do grain. I have 
noticed squabs in nests with it also. I believe 
it is as good for squabs in nest as it is for the 
older squabs or youngsters. I don't believe a 
better feed could be fed to youngsters. The 
bread costs me one cent a loaf, or from $1 to 
$1.10 per 100 pounds. 

SOY BEANS FOR PIGEONS. Soy beans 
are a Canada peas substitute. A region of the 
world where the bean is indigenous, and where 
it has been a staple commodity of diet for 
centuries, is Asia, conspicuously India, China 
and Japan. Until a comparatively recent date 
native consumption has kept pace with pro- 
duction and there has not been much export 
trade. But with recent development of Man- 
churia the soy bean crop has come to have a 
bulk and value that is astounding, the demand 
from Europe and Japan steadily growing, so 
that the latest reports of shipment from Darien 
(formerly Dalny) and Vladivostok indicate that 
the Manchurian farmers are now raising an- 
nually about 1,800,000 tons of the beans and 
beancake. The soy bean flourishes well in the 
climate and on the soil of north Asia, and 
Russia as well as China and Japan stands to 
gain much by the value of the salable crops 
hereafter to come from the lands they own or 
control. European nations are finding that 
the oil from the bean has a variety of uses, 
edible as well as lubricating; that the flour can 
be used with wheat and rye to make bread ; and 
that the beancake is admirable as food for 
cattle. Japanese capital and managers are 
profiting by the sudden and yet substantial 
expansion of this Manchurian export trade 
through their wise administration of the port 
of Darien and the trading enterprises which 
they carry on in the zone along the railway that 
they control. Japanese in Japan also are 
profiting by the new and inexpensive form of 
food supply; there the soy bean provides much 
for a people not over rich in foods and taxed 
at present to a point that only a people as 
loyal as the Japanese would bear lonj without 
complaint. Soy beans are exceedingly rich in 
protein. 

WHY THE BREEDING OF MONGRELS 
FAILS, by Charles Darwin. Pigeons with 
feathered feet have skin between their outer 
toes. Pigeons with short beaks have small 
feet, and those with long beaks large feet. 
Hence if man goes on selecting, and thus 
augmenting, any pecularity, he will almost 
certainly modify unintentionally other parts of 
the structure, owing to the mysterious Jaws of 
correlation. 

Having kept nearly all the English breeds 
of the fowl alive, having bred and crossed 
them, and examined their skeletons, it appears 
to me almost certain that all are the descend- 
ants of the wild Indian fowl, gallus bankiva; 
and this is the conclusion of Mr. Blyth and 
of others who have studied this bird in India. 
In regard to ducks and rabbits, some breeds 
of which differ much from each other, the 



412 



APPENDIX G 



evidence is clear that they are all descended 
from the common wild duck and rabbit. 

The possibility of making distinct races by 
crossing has been greatly exaggerated. Many 
cases are on record, showing that a race may 
be modified by occasional crosses, if aided by 
the careful selection of the individuals which 
present the desired character; but to obtain 
a race intermediate between two quite distinct 
races would be very difficult. Sir J. Sebright 
expressly experimented with this object, and 
failed. The offspring from the first cross 
between two pure breeds is tolerably and some- 
times (as I have found with pigeons) quite 
uniform in character, and everything seems 
simple enough; but when these mongrels are 
crossed one with another for several generations , 
hardly two of them are alike, and then the difficulty 
of the task becomes manifest. 

Believing that it is always best to study 
some special group, I have, after deliberation, 
taken up domestic pigeons. I have kept every 
breed which I could purchase or obtain, and 
have been most kindly favored with skins 
from _ several quarters of the world, more 
especially by the Hon. W. Elliot from India, 
and by the Hon. C. Murray from Persia. 
Many treatises in different languages have 
been published on pigeons, and some of them 
are very important, as being of considerable 
antiquity. I have associated with several 
eminent fanciers, and have been permitted to 
join two of the London pigeon clubs. The 
diversity of the breeds is something astonishing. 
Compare the English Carrier and the short- 
faced Tumbler, and see the wonderful differ- 
ence in their beaks, entailing corresponding 
differences in their skulls. The Carrier, more 
especially the male bird, is also remarkable 
from the wonderful development of the carun- 
culated skin about the head; and this is ac- 
companied by greatly elongated eyelids, very 
large external orifices to the nostrils and a 
wide gape of mouth. _ The short-faced Tumbler 
has a beak in outline almost like that of a 
finch; and the common Tumbler has the sin- 
gular inherited habit of flying at a great height 
in a compact flock and tumbling in the air 
head over heels. The Runt is a bird of great 
size, with long massive beak and large feet; 
some of the sub-breeds of Runts have very 
long necks, others very long wings and tails, 
others singularly short tails. The Barb is 
allied to the Carrier, but, instead of a long beak, 
has a very short and broad one. The Pouter 
has a much elongated body, wings and legs; 
and its enormously developed crop, which it 
glories in inflating, may well excite astonishment 
and even laughter. TheTurbithas a short and 
conical beak, with a line of reversed feathers 
down the breast; and it has the habit of con- 
tinually expanding, slightly, the upper part 
of the oesophagus. The Jacobin has the 
feathers so much reversed along the back of 
the neck that they form a hood; and it has, 
proportionally to its size, elongated wing and 
tail feathers. The Trumpeter and Laugher, 
as their names express, utter a very different 
coo from the other breeds. The Fantail has 



thirty or even forty tail-feathers, instead of 
twelve or fourteen — the normal number in 
all the members of the great pigeon family. 
These feathers are kept expanded and are 
carried so erect that in good birds the head 
and tail touch: the oil-gland is quite aborted. 
Several other less distinct breeds might be 
specified. 

In the skeletons of the several breeds, the 
development of the bones of the face in length 
and breadth and curvature differs enormously. 
The shape, as well as the breadth and length 
of the ramus of the lower jaw, varies in a 
highly remarkable manner. The caudal and 
sacral vertebrae vary in number; as does the 
number of the ribs, together with their relative 
breadth and the presence of processes. The 
size and shape of the apertures in the sternum 
are highly variable; so is the degree of diver- 
gence and relative size of the two arms of the 
furcula. The proportional width of the gape 
of mouth, the proportional length of the eye- 
lids, of the orifice of the nostrils, of the tongue 
(not always in strict correlation with the length 
of beak), the size of the crop and the upper part 
of the oesophagus; the development and 
abortion of the oil-gland; the number of the 
primary wing and caudal feathers; the relative 
length of the wing and tail to each other and to 
the body; the relative length of the leg and foot; 
the number of scutellse on the toes, the develop- 
ment of skin between the toes, are all points 
of structure which are variable. The period 
at which the perfect olumage is acquired varies, 
as does the state of the down with which the 
nestling birds are clothed when hatched. The 
shape and size of the eggs vary. The manner 
of flight, and in some breeds the voice and dis- 
position, differ remarkably. Lastly, in certain 
breeds, the males and females have come to differ 
in a slight degree from each other. 

Altogether at least a score of pigeons might 
be chosen, which, if shown to an ornithologist, 
and he were told that they were wild birds, 
would certainly be ranked by him as well- 
defined species. Moreover, I do not believe 
that any ornithologist would in this case place 
the English Carrier, the short-faced Tumbler, 
the Runt, the Barb, Pouter and Fantail in 
the same genus; more especially as in each of 
these breeds several truly-inherited sub-breeds, 
or species, as he would call them, could be 
shown him. 

Great as are the differences between the 
breeds of the pigeon, I am fully convinced that 
the common opinion of naturalists is correct, 
namely, that all are descended from the rock- 
pigeon {columba livid), including under this 
term several geographical races or sub-species 
which differ from each other in the most 
trifling respects. As several of the reasons 
which have led me to this belief are in some 
degree applicable in other cases, I wiil here 
briefly give them. If the several breeds are 
not varieties, and have not proceeded from 
the rock-pigeon, they must have de cended 
from at least seven or eight aboriginal stocks 
for it is impossible to make the present domestic 
breeds by the crossing of any lesser number: 



APPENDIX G 



413 



how, for instance, could a Pouter be produced 
by crossing two breeds unless one of the parent 
stock possessed the characteristic enormous 
crop? fhe supposed aboriginal stocks must 
all have been rock-pigeons, that is, they did 
not breed or willingly perch on trees. But 
besides columba livia, with its geographical 
sub-species, only two or three other species 
of rock-pigeons are known; and these have 
not any of the characteristics of the domestic 
breeds. Hence the supposed aboriginal stocks 
must either still exist in the countries where 
they were originally domesticated, and yet 
be unknown to ornithologists — -and this, 
considering their size, habits, and remark- 
able characters, seems improbable — or they 
must have become extinct in the wild state. 
But birds breeding on precipices, and good 
fliers, are unlikely to be exterminated; and 
the common rock-pigeon, which has the same 
habits with the domestic breeds, has not been 
exterminated even on several of the smaller 
British islets, or on the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean. Hence the supposed extermination 
of so many species having similar habits with 
the rock-pigeon seems a very rash assumption. 
Moreover, the several above-named domes- 
ticated breeds have been transported to all 
parts of the world, and therefore, some of them 
must have been carried back again into their 
native country; but not one has become 
wild or feral, though the dovecot-pigeon, 
which is the rock-pigeon in a very slightly 
altered state, has become feral in several 
places. Again, all recent experience shows that 
it is difficult to get wild animals to breed 
freely under domestication; yet, on the hypothe- 
sis of the multiple origin of our pigeons, it 
must be assumed that at least seven or eight 
species were so thoroughly domesticated in 
ancient times by half-civilized man as to be 
quite prolific under confinement. 

An argument of great weight, and applicable 
in several other cases, is that the above- 
specified breeds, though agreeing generally with 
the wild rock-pigeon in constitution, habits, 
voice, coloring, and in most parts of their 
structure, yet are certainly highly abnormal in 
other parts; we may look in vain through the 
whole great family of columbidae for a beak 
like that of the English Carrier, or that of 
the short-faced Tumbler, or Barb; for reversed 
feathers like those of the Jacobin; for a crop 
like that of the Pouter; for tail-feathers like 
those of the Fantail. Hence it must be 
assumed not only that half-civilized man suc- 
ceeded in thoroughly domesticating several 
species, but that he intentionally or by chance 
picked out extraordinarily abnormal species; 
and further, that these very species have since 
all become extinct or unknown. So many 
strange contingencies are improbable in the 
highest degree. 

THE LAWS OR PRINCIPLES OF BREED- 
ING, by Jas. P. Kinnard. The breeding of 
pigeons, like everything in nature, is governed 
by certain laws or principles, several of which 
are well recognized, and there are doubtless 



others not yet discovered. Some of the 
principles of breeding have been discovered 
and recognized for ages, and being now well 
known, enable the breeder to prosecute his 
work with a reasonable degree of success. 

There are three well-recognized funda- 
mental laws or principles of breeding: 1. The 
principle of "like begets like"; 2. The prin- 
ciple of "variation"; and 3. The principle of 
" atavism." 

Like begets like, the first great law of breed- 
ing, enables the breeder to attain success, be- 
cause it is this principle of breeding that causes 
a Homer to produce a Homer, a Carneau to 
produce a Carneau, a red bird to produce a 
red bird, and a large bird to produce a large 
bird; and thus enables a breeder to know 
with some degree of certainty, when he selects 
his parent stock, what kind of young they will 
produce. 

The principle like begets like is more or less 
modified or interfered with by the other two 
principles, and it is also assisted or interfered 
with by another principle of breeding known 
as prepotency, which is really a sub-principle 
of like begets like. 

Variation is that principle of breeding which 
has a tendency to cause the form, color, etc., 
of the young to differ from that of the parent 
stock. 

Atavism is that principle of breeding which 
has a tendency to cause the offspring to breed 
back (it is called) to one or more ancestors, 
sometimes even very remote. 

The degree of strength by which the prin- 
ciple of like begets like operates, is somewhat 
governed or controlled by another law of 
breeding known as prepotency, that is, the 
power of imparting the quality of the parent 
stock upon the young. To illustrate, a solid 
red Carneau that has been produced from a 
long line of solid red Carneaux, by careful 
selection and breeding is more prepotent and 
can be depended upon with a greater degree of 
certainty to impart its solid red color and 
other good qualities upon its squabs than a red 
cross between a Carneau and a Homer. Hence 
it is better to breed pure-bred stock that has 
been bred for a long number of generations 
by a breeder or breeders who possess the 
requisite skill and knowledge of the principles 
of breeding; for good results are more certain 
of attainment than when mongrels or crosses 
are used. 

The second great law or principle of breed- 
ing, variation, more or less modifies and inter- 
feres with the law of like begets like and makes 
the life of the breeder miserable, as it were, for 
it causes the qualities of the offspring to vary, 
sometimes widely, from those of the parents. 
It is only by the most careful, skilful, and per- 
sistent system of selecting the best specimens, 
possessing the most desirable qualities, and 
rigidly eliminating or culling out all undesir- 
able specimens, that enables the first law, like 
begets like, to work in harmony with the third 
law, atavism, _ and thus overcome to a great 
extent the evils of the second law, variation; 
thus giving the skilful, intelligent breeder a 



414 



APPENDIX G 



decided advantage over the haphazard, thought - 
less breeder. 

It is not my intention in this article to discuss 
in detail these principles of breeding, because 
of lack of space, but I may do so in future 
articles; but it is my purpose here to call the 
attention of the reader to the great, funda- 
mental laws of breeding and cause him to 
think and consider whether to secure the best 
results, even the breeding of pigeons requires 
careful thought and study as well as practical 
experience. 

I merely wish to mention two matters in 
conclusion that I will not have time in this 
article to elaborate: 

_ 1. That the haphazard cross-breeding of 
pigeons is not nearly so likely to produce 
pigeons of high quality as a systematic course 
of breeding thoroughbreds that have had their 
excellent qualities impressed upon them by 
generations of careful breeding, and a careful 
selection for breeding stock of those only that 
possess in a high degree the qualities desired, 
as in utility pig3ons — size, quality, and color 
of the meat, and p.-olificness, while at the same 
time being attracti /e in appearance. 2. There 
is nothing in the assertion made by some that 
there is a principle of breeding which causes 
the squab to take its color from the cock and 
its shape and size from the hen, though it is 
contended for by some breeders and writers. 
My contention, which is sustained by the ex- 
perience of the best known breeders of live- 
stock, poultry, and pigeons, is that there is 
no law of sex controlling any certain qualities, 
but that the cock and hen have an equal 
tendency to impart all their qualities upon their 
squabs, strengthened or_ weakened by the 
prepotency or want of it in each. I may 
discuss this question further in a future article. 

The object of this article is not to arouse 
controversy, but to offer some suggestions in 
order to arouse the young breeder to endeavor 
by careful thought, study, and practice to 
breed better birds than he is now breeding. 

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN BREEDING 
SQUABS, by Judge Ocie Stfeer. Most people 
who have owned a dozen pigeons stand ready 
at a moment's notice to give all sorts of advice 
about the pigeon business, and I want to 
exercise that privilege at this time,— possibly 
to the profit of some beginner. 

First, one should not expect to breed twelve 
■pairs of squabs a year, from each pair of birds. 
No one but a Micawber expects every lot in 
the block to be a corner lot, and none but the 
most delectable optimist numbers his pro- 
spective herd by calculating every calf a heifer. 
It is not safe to buy your seed stock of any 
breed, however prolific, and count in advance 
that you will certainly get twelve pairs of 
squabs from each mated pair, the first year, and 
that all youngsters will live, mate at four 
months, and repeat the process of producing 
twelve pairs of squabs every twelve months. 
In the first place, if such figures " panned 
out " (that isn't a good figure, I mean " hatched 
out "), everybody would go into the pigeon 



business, and t\ ore wouldn't be room for the 
birds raised. 1 urthermore, there would be 
no glory in achie ing a thing so easy to be done. 
Pigeons won't increase that fast, with any 
amount of care. Don't be foolish and expect 
it. If you get eiiht pairs of squabs a year, 
and have parent pairs enough, you stand a 
good chance to get rich. 

Second, one shou'd not expect to raise every 
squab that is hatched. I have tried chickens 
and they are the best diers I ever saw. Mor- 
tality tables, if they were kept for chickens, 
would read something like this: 

STANDARD MORTALITY TABLE SHOWING LIFE 
EXPECTANCY OF CHICKENS 

At pipping time Nil. 

At hatching time Too early to estimate. 

One day old . . One chance in a thousand to sur- 
vive. 
One week old .... One day (if not too hot or too 

cold). 
One month old .... One week (if no sign of sick- 
ness). 

Now, every one who has tried both, knows 
that pigeons are more healthy and easier to 
raise than chickens, yet squabs can die, and do 
die. The breeder is lucky if, with the best 
care, he raises to full maturity, ninety per cent 
of the squabs hatched. He ought not to raise 
less than seventy-five per cent. If he raises 
only fifty per cent, his business may yet be 
profitable, since squabs, like the good, die 
early, and their keep has been inconsiderable, 
and the parent pair " get busy " again. 

Next, one should not get discouraged too early, 
nor at all. There is no royal road to wealth; 
not even the pigeon fancier is borne "on 
flowery beds of ease " to that earthly haven of 
" peace and plenty." Everything worth ac- 
complishing requires an effort, and an intel- 
ligent effort at that. Experience proves that 
pigeon breeding is not only a pleasant occupa- 
tion, but a profitable one. The business can 
be made a " go," even under unfavorable con- 
ditions, and knowing this, the beginner must 
acknowledge no such word as quit. 

But enough of advice. I shall now tell you 
some other things either interesting or helpful. 
Item number one. One of my fine Car- 
neau hens accidentally broke her egg. I don't 
mean it was broken on the floor and the con- 
tents spattered about, but the outer shell was 
broken in a place as large as a pea. I care- 
fully sealed up the break with a little plaster, 
commercially known as Cementium, and re- 
placed the egg in the nest. It hatched on 
time, and the pigeon is now mated and working 
in my loft of solid reds. I have repeated this 
many times. 

Item number two. I have a pair of birds 
that have been nesting and laying for some 
time, but that is all they do. Try as I may, I 
have never been able to induce madame to 
sit a single day. She lays every ten days. I 
shall keep her to see how long she will continue 
to do so. 

Item number three. I had a pair of very 
fine solids reds to mate and set up housekeeping 
at four and a half months old. Thev were 



APPENDIX G 



415 



slow to lay, but at last I got two eggs from the 
nest. These were placed under another pair. 
For four or five months thereafter, I never got 
an egg from them, and at last becoming 
suspicious of their family relations I forcibly 
separated them, placing each in a separate 
coop of youngsters. They are both now breed- 
ing with new mates, but the new males are both 
hens. Oh, yes, the eggs I got from the first 
nest were laid by another hen. 

Item number four. I have had a few cases 
of canker among my young. I have tried 
kerosene oil, carbolic acid, aconite, and most 
everything else they have told me, but the 
only remedy worth while, according to my 
experience, is a mixture of mineral red and 
sulphur, in the proportions of three to one, in 
the order named. I pry open the mouth, pour 
in a quantity of the dry mixture of the size of 
a bean. This tends to dry up the cankerous 
growth, and enables the parent birds to fill 
the squab with grain. , I have saved several 
that were badly afflicted. This preparation 
placed occasionally in the bottom of feed 
troughs is a good preventative of the disease. 

Item number five. The best nesting mate- 
rial I have ever used I get from a nearby broom 
factory. I do not take the large canes or 
heads, but only the trimmings from the finished 
bic?m. These are of a proper size and length. 
They t^.' »"<; nothing, and are as good or 
better than tooacco stems. In warm weather, 
I would mix this with tobacco stems to avoid 
insects. I have never seen a parasite in my 
loft. 

SQUAB AND CHICKEN BREEDING COM- 
PARED, by Ray C. Brown. Regarding the 
squab business vs. the poultry business, I will 
give you as clear a comparison as possible, 
based on facts, obtained from my own experi- 
ence, of which I have had much, in nearly all 
branches. This experience compels me to 
state that with a much smaller capital, much 
less room, less labor and experience the squab 
business can be put on to a profit-paying basis 
much sooner and with larger returns from the 
amount invested. 

My recommendation to a person who is to 
depend on the business for an honest living, 
one of course who is inexperienced in either the 
squab or poultry business, but willing to put 
forth an honest effort, one who will lay his 
foundation with quality rather than quantity, 
and take the advice from some of the pioneers 
in the business, is to invest in squabs, not dis- 
puting the fact that there is money in the 
poultry business. There surely is, but believe 
me, it is in the fancy lines, and those who 
derive the profit are the experts, ninety per 
cent of whom are judges, or capable of judging. 
Most of them are naturally born judges, the 
remaining ten per cent making good through 
long experience. Thousands who start are 
compelled to quit owing to the lack of that 
necessary experience. Many of them have 
started later and made a success of squabs, 
which is sufficient proof that here are quicker 
returns, with less labor. 



To back up some of the above statements, 
allow me to mention some important points 
necessary to make the poultry business a 
success, including the various branches com- 
bined, where the greatest possible profit can be 
derived. 

You must be capable of producing the high- 
scoring and prize-winning specimens. You 
must study the Standard of Perfection, learn 
the requirements, know how to mate for re- 
sults, how to breed, line-breed, hatch, rear and 
condition your specimens. 

Then to prove to the public you have the 
quality, you must show your birds and be able 
to win the blue ribbons, which you will find no 
cinch, as you are in the keenest competition 
and up against some of the old timers, who have 
been there before. That you should win out, 
you must advertise. You most likely will get 
inquiries from promising customers. Now 
comes the point. You must know how to 
write a pulling letter, one that pulls just a 
little harder than the other fellow, who un- 
doubtedly is offering something just as good, 
perhaps at a less price. 

People who keep from twelve to fifteen hens, 
which can almost be fed from the leavings from 
the kitchen, derive the benefit of a few fresh 
eggs and form a wrong opinion of the business, 
as this number of hens far from pays anything 
but a small profit. When the person puts in 
the large number of birds, the table leavings 
fall short and at the price of grain needed to- 
produce results, your birds soon eat their heads 
off, if selling your eggs and broilers at market 
prices. 

At Etwinoma Farms we of course sell many 
eggs, broilers, roasters, fowls, etc., at market 
prices, but they are the culls picked from our 
large flocks, not worthy as fancy specimens. 

Were we unable to produce a certain per cent 
of high-scoring birds and obliged to depend on 
our entire output at market value, you would 
soon read something like this: the entire poul- 
try department at the Etwinoma Farms has 
been turned into another squab plant. 

The person who can write the check and 
employ an expert can in most cases make a 
success of the poultry business, depending on 
facts, but the willing person with little capital 
and no experience had better invent in squabs, 
for which there is a constant demand with 
much less competition. 

The person with a little land can derive a 
much larger return from the squab business 
than from poultry as the difference in the room 
required is much in favor of the squab busi- 
ness. The squab building, while much the 
same as that of the modern poultry house, can 
be built at a much less fijure, as the poultry 
houses must be tight and warm, while pigeons 
will breed and rear their young through the 
coldest months in winter in buildings where 
most breeds of poultry would freeze stiff. 

A building required to accommodate one 
hundred and thirty to two hundred head of 
poultry, depending on varieties, will accom- 
modate four hundred and fifty mated pairs 
of squab breeders, while the amount of room 



418 



APPENDIX G 



needed for outer runs or aviaries is about one- 
quarter to one-tenth the amount in favor of 
pigeons, depending on whether fowls have con- 
finement or free range. 

Pigeons do their own hatching, breeding and 
rearing, no incubators, brooders, or artificial 
heat needed,, as in case of chickens, because 
the good-priced broiler or bird must be early- 
hatched. A broiler ready to market weighing 
from one and one-half to two pounds is usually 
killed at from nine to fifteen weeks old, de- 
pending on care and attention while growing, 
at a price of from twenty-five cents to thirty- 
eights cents per pound, depending on the season. 
The squabs, at a price of from twenty-five cents 
to fifty cents each, are up in size at from twenty- 
one to twenty-eight days old, depending on 
feed and the quality of parent stock. 

Where broilers are required to be dry-picked, 
one can clean up about six squabs to one of the 
former. 

Another great advantage in favor of squabs 
is that the only handling required is picking 
them up and dressing ready for market, while 
the chicks require constant watching. They 
are usually too hot or too cold, too wet or too 
dry, too crowded or too something all the time. 

A flock of squab breeders properly housed is 
free from hawks, skunks, cats, dogs and thieves, 
which are constantly to be fought while rear- 
ing chicks. 

Squabs properly housed does not mean ex- 
pensive buildings and elaborate fixtures. 
Build your squab houses plain and cheap. 
Put the extra money saved into the quality of 
stockyoustart. Buy the best and save money 
and time in the end. 

The trouble with ninety per cent of the 
people who have started and made a failure of 
the squab business, if traced back, will be 
found to be cheap foundation stock, which in 
my opinion is the mort expensive start that 
can be made. Get the best or none at all. 

Don't turn to the advertisements looking for 
something for nothing, then sit down and write 
to several of those who are selling out cheap, 
and then spend time looking over their answers 
several times to be sure you are buying from 
the cheapest offer. Buy the best. Good 
squab breeders are usually worth the prioe 
asked. Cheap birds turn out to be much 
like the man who brought home the hungry 
dog, and while showing his wife his beautiful 
present and telling her the beauty of it, and 
that it was given to him, Mr. Dog, seeing Miss 
Pussy under the stove, made a sudden leap 
through the bay window. Down went cur- 
tains, plants, cat and dog down two blocks, 
through the market window. Doggie not 
being satisfied after killing poor pussy, on his 
way out carried with him a quarter of veal. 
Next day Mr. Butcher presented the man who 
had the beautiful present a bill of only $56.31. 
After paying the bill with a hearty laugh Mr. 
Man said: "Well, I don't care. The dog 
didn't cost me anything. He was given to 
me." 

Bear well in mind that cheap things are 
usually the most expensive in the end. 



The only person who really gives good things 
away is Santa Claus and he comes only once 
each year. Also remember cheap birds eat 
just as much as the up-to-standard birds. If 
you are going to feed anything, feed the best, 
for which your returns are sure. 

If you have once considered the squab busi- 
ness and have been discouraged by some one 
who has made a failure, I would ask you to 
give it another thought, take your advice from 
those who have made a success, and if you will 
start right, and continue with propel care, you 
have nothing to lose and no limit to what you 
can make. It is worth your while. Try it. 

CHARD IS BEST GREEN FOOD FOR 
PIGEONS, by Ocie Speer. Ordinary garden 
chard is the best pigeon green food ever. 
Everybody knows that in their state of liberty 
pigeons are constantly picking at weeds and 
grasses, and that in their confinement this part 
of their diet must constantly be supplied if the 
birds are to continue in a state of good health. 
The avidity with which a flock will devour 
even the commonest weeds when thrown 
into their pen demonstrates the necessity for 
supplying such food in an intelligent manner. 
The change of diet thus afforded is a tonic 
to their systems and is as important a part 
of their ration as grit. We have all fed lettuce, 
mustard, pepper grass, cabbage and pig pursley, 
but I have never tried anything which my 
birds enjoyed or ate with such relish as the 
plant known as Swiss chard. 

Swiss chard, or the white beet, belongs to 
the family of garden beets, but the root is 
not edible, being grown only for the tops. 
The seed may be had of any seed store. The 
plant is hardy and very prolific. It stands 
drouth well and flourishes with an abundance 
of rain. It may be sown in the early spring 
and will supply an abundance of green food 
until severe cold and in this latitude survives 
the ordinary winters. The habit of the plant 
is erect, with large leaves having pulpy mid- 
ribs. These leaves may be constantly " bladed " 
off without injury to the plant and remain 
succulent and tender throughout the season. 
Unlike lettuce and most other garden plants 
which furnish desirable feed for the birds, 
chard is in season about nine months in the 
year. In my opinion it solves the question 
of green food for pigeons. 

In this connection a suggestion for planting 
will not be amiss. The plant is an ornamental 
one and lends itself easily to landscape garden- 
ing. It makes a pretty bedding plant and by 
a proper laying out of the yards about the 
pens and flies, some very pleasing effects 
could be obtained. Beds and hedges could 
be set in such a way as to beautify the premises 
and at the same time furnish a constant supply 
of the much-needed salads for the feathered 
pets. Try it next spring. 

I can sell all the squabs I can raise to the 
hospitals for $3.60 per dozen, and at times 
$4.50. — E. L. Schirm, Georgia. 



